Squidbeak Singularity
by JRedd7272
Summary: Tom gets assigned a mission in order to save Charlotte from her current state. Though by Switch, it'll be impossible for what Tom will have to face, when new and old foes look for him. (Cover art made by one of my friends on Discord)
1. Mission Assigned

**My next big story has finally arrived! And yes, guys, this is the next major story with Tom in it.**

**I won't explain all details in the story, but I will say this: the Inkblot Disease returns here. **

**I know, I know. I explained before that I won't make this disease return. But things change. And it's only going to appear for about half of the story, if not more or less. :/**

**Anyways, I have this story now ready to roll. I hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

Tom sat down on a large log. He watched many people try to fix up the rubble of what remains of the village. He remembers it being fixed before, but only because damage wasn't too severe like it is right now.

With this amount of damage, it may take months to get everything working well again.

But that wasn't the only thing on Tom's mind. He took off his helmet and set it back down on the log, right next to him. He was already traumatized enough with every detail of the massacre that ended up killing his parents.

And this time, a similar massacre happened where Tom has yet lost another family member. Like his parents, he saw his adopted sister turned decease girlfriend Charlotte, who was stabbed by Jenny, the elite captain of Octavio's troops.

Normally he would at least have a little bravery during the current invasion since he is now a part of the Special Forces. But even then... it didn't stop bad things from happening.

Lives were taken, homes were burned down, the remaining people alive were evacuating the village just in hopes of getting to safety. But for Tom... it didn't seem that way.

All that was on his mind was the chaotic screams. Angry screams of the Octolings attacking, and fearful screams of the ones who were scared; absolutely terrified. They just wanted to live, but no one was spared.

And that's mainly because Jenny is the one possible for leading the massacre in the first place.

Tom grumbles as he grabs his head with both of his hands, trying to suppress the memories currently haunting him. But all that was on his mind... was seeing Charlotte die in front of his own eyes.

Every detail is what he remembers, high amounts of blood protruding from Charlotte's chest as Jenny roughly pulls the Octo Sword out. And how she gave Tom one last kiss before she died. And then there's... Jenny.

For Tom, all he thought about when it came to Jenny was how cold and rude she was. She threatened Charlotte by declaring that the former member of Jenny's army tried to take Octavio out of power by starting a six-month exile, only for it to fail in the end.

And even though Tom doesn't know Jenny very well, she did remember they'll meet again one day. And since Tom is a part of a big, experienced group, that may happen very shortly.

Tom groans loudly as he lowers his head, thinking about every haunting memory.

_"Tom... it's going to be okay..."_

Tom heard Charlotte's soothing, calm voice. That managed to make him relax just a bit. It always did.

Every since Tom and Charlotte were little, whenever Tom would feel frightened, Charlotte is immediately by his side before anyone can react. She doesn't care what Tom has been through. All she cares about was making sure that Tom was safe and calm.

Tom leans back and sighs.

"Why? Why did it have to be you, Charlotte? It should've been me..." He groaned.

_"Please don't say that about yourself," _Charlotte cried, _"I only wanted to make sure you are okay. I was reckless to take that hit myself, but you would've died instead of me. Do not blame yourself for such utter annihilation moments like this..."_

"It's just like what happened with mom and dad. The whole tragedies are too much for me at this point." Tom mumbled as he covers his face with his hands.

_"I know, Tom. It was rough for me, too," _Charlotte admitted, _"I know my loss is way too hard for you to get over, since we love each other very much. But... *sigh* Tom, you know it's my fault for this whole mess in the first place."_

"How, Charlotte? How?" Tom asked, his voice nearly a mutter.

_"It's my fault for joining Jenny's army in the first place," _Charlotte replied, _"I only joined in hopes of getting stronger. Especially with some friends I made. But I was quick to point out that Jenny isn't an ordinary Octoling. She's... way different from any other."_

"That explains why that woman is ruthless enough to try and kill us." Tom ranted, removing his hands from his face, then crossing his arms.

_"Jenny was after me every since I first joined, Tom," _Charlotte confessed, _"She started the Ryuketsunoshi Army for elite Octolings who have their moments with Inklings before, and I only admitted to her to only join for the sake of finding Inklings. But it wasn't to hurt them. It was to warn them. And now... it's too late..."_

"I already hate her, Charlotte. She killed you. She killed you, and I was forced to watch because of the destruction of our home!" Tom shouted.

_"So do I. I regret ever joining her in the first place." _Charlotte sighed. Both her and Tom then stayed silent for some time. Since Charlotte is gone, Tom could only hear her in his head, which was why Samantha questioned that earlier.

The two were silent for a few more seconds, and then Charlotte decided to break it.

_"I would probably say Jenny is just as bad as Al-"_

But her sentence was interrupted by a loud rumbling sound. Tom looked down to see that it was his communication device doing the rumbling inside his pocket.

Tom picks up the device, and answers it.

_"Operative 9! Do you read me?!" _Tom's boss yelled in worry. Tom sighed in relief knowing that his boss was okay during the whole splatocalypse.

"I read you loud and clear, sir." Tom said to the device.

_"Thank cod! Where were you? There were Octolings surrounding the facility before I got done with my warning!" _The boss exclaimed, _"But it's too late now, the invasion is over. Is everything okay where you're at."_

"Negative. My village has been destroyed..." Tom confessed as he shuts his eyes, more of the memories buzzing around him.

_"What?! You mean like the Village Massacre that happened 8 years ago?!" _The boss yelped.

"Yes. Except it was led by someone... Charlotte mentioned to me." Tom said.

_"Do you know who that person is, Operative 9?" _Tom's boss asked.

Tom looked over, just viewing the scenery. But he could tell Charlotte would be there, watching him.

_"Tom, her full name... is... Jenny Megan Takonochi." _Charlotte whispered. Tom only nodded, but didn't get a response considering that no one else was here except him.

"Her name is Jenny Megan Takonochi, sir." Tom responded to the device. He could then hear stumbling sounds, and also maybe some stuff falling over. It seems that maybe Tom's boss knew about her.

_"No... really? The infamous Inkling killer obliterated your hometown?!" _He yelled.

"Affirmative, sir," Tom said, "But uh... how's everything going with you? Are the others okay?"

_"Operative 9, it is my absolute pleasure to announce everyone has been into safety. Everyone has some slight injuries except for Albert and Solutus, who helped everyone escape our quarters before any massive damage."_ His boss explained.

"Thank goodness." Tom said, showing a small smile.

_"Now I must announce that I will be traveling to Inkopolis Square very shortly," _The boss reminded, _"When I so happen to arrive, I will let you know so you can meet back up with us. Until then, just try to stay safe, capiche?"_

"Yes sir." Tom replied, showing a salute while in his sitting position.

_"Good. I'll call you later on. Be careful out there, Operative 9." _Tom's boss warned, and then stopped the communication. Tom put the device back into his pocket.

_"What are you going to do now, Tom?" _Charlotte's voice can be heard again.

"Nothing is the same without you, Charlotte," Tom sighed, "You've always been there to comfort me every time I felt down. But now you're gone, and I can't feel the same way ever again. That's why... I need to find you again."

_"Tom... I..." _Charlotte was speechless. But then, before she could continue, she was interrupted again. This time, by the sky turning very dark. And it wasn't as in nighttime dark, even though it's close to that time.

It was almost pitch dark there.

Suddenly, a large, red circle appeared in the sky. And then some weird logo appeared on the circle. That logo was white, and looked like something so familiar.

"Kiita koto wa arimasu ka?" It's booming voice can be heard all around the destroyed village. Tom winced as he heard it's loud voice.

"E-Excuse me?!" Tom yelled loudly, confused on what he what seeing. And hearing.

"Ah, another young Inkling. You seem to be wanting something so... impossible." The mysterious being said. Tom inhaled through his nose, trying to take all that in. His confusion on the being was also getting him a little frustrated.

"Who are you, and what do you mean by that?!" Tom demanded.

"I am a mysterious god named 'Switch'. Tom Flamil Howzit... I am quite shocked you do not recognize my appearance, nor know any slight thing about me." Switch replied, a little sass in his last sentence.

"Are you... stalking me?" Tom questioned as he stood up.

"Stalk? Howzit, I am a god of many universes. Stalking is a bit of an overstatement," Switch explained, "And before you question 'god of many universes'... _Hai, _I know many places far from your own. You have a lot to even learn."

"Okay, well, now that I understand where you're coming from... explain why you came to me." Tom said, crossing his arms. He wasn't pleased at the slightest.

"Didn't you just think of something that is deemed impossible to accomplish? Don't stutter against me. You wished for a dead person to come back to life." Switch told the squid. Tom's jaw dropped to the floor, very surprised that this god managed to know that.

"Don't you know how the rules work? You can't wish for such reconstruction. Though it isn't out of selfishness unlike most others, so I'll give you that." Switch added.

"Most others? What is your statement by that when you say most others, hm?" Tom questioned. One of Switch's "body parts" raised up, then slam down to create a massive shockwave, which only cause a hurricane-like wind. Tom only stood his ground as the wind took its course.

"Anata wa sore o shiru hitsuyō wa arimasen." Switch bellowed, his voice echoing.

"..." Tom was silent.

"It's Japanese, Howzit. You wouldn't understand unless you learned it." Switch admitted.

"I never learned another language, except for learning Inkling and Octarian. That's it." Tom said.

"Understandable. You grew up around both races, so I will give you some praise." Switch chuckled.

"Anything more that you want from me? I'm curious about your sudden appearance, after all." Tom continued, tapping his right foot on the ground.

"You thought something far from accomplished. But if you want it so bad, would you like to try and earn it?" Switch asked. Tom was surprised. This god can actually be the one to at least give Charlotte another chance?

"W... What's the catch, 'o great Switch?" Tom questioned.

"Why do you want to know a conclusion so early in a bet? Unless you want this chance, I will not tell you until the deed is done." Switch exclaimed. Tom thought about this. It seemed... very sketchy.

But Tom wants every chance he can get. He wants to know what'll happen to Charlotte if this were to happen. Will she be revived? Will she be a ghost where everyone else can see her? Or maybe something more?

Tom finally decided. He had to give this a chance.

"I went through years of harsh training to become the person I am today. I am ready for whatever you have to offer." Tom smirked.

"I can assure you that this is unlike anything you have ever experienced. Unless you want to suffer major injuries, go right ahead." Switch groaned.

"It's worth it to help Charlotte. I will take any chance." Tom said as he slammed his right foot on the ground.

"Very well then. Anata wa kore o motomemashita..." Switch simply said. He raised his right "body part" again...

_Click!_

A sudden large, black substance caught itself right onto Tom. The squid was knocked back a few inches, laying on his back.

He leans up and groans, recovering from the pain.

"What did you just hit me with?!" Tom shouted.

"Howzit, I will say that you are now infected with... the legendary Inkblot Disease." Switch replied. Tom gasped at that. He didn't know what it was, but because "Disease" was in its name, it couldn't be good.

"What does that do? Tell me!" Tom commanded.

"Your skin will starts to have some melting black effects," Switch explained, "There are many symptoms that classic diseases have, but you won't be experiencing those unless you are slow to try and cure yourself. You'll start out fine, but it'll only get worse. Especially if you just so happen to reach the Terminal Stage."

"Terminal Stage?" Tom repeated.

"Once you reach Terminal Stage, you'll become a horrifying, black, mutated monster. If you get there... it's permanent. You cannot be cured. And I made sure true love isn't gonna cure you in this desirable scenario." Switch continued. Tom felt a little more scared. But he needed to do this to know what'll happen with Charlotte.

"What do I have to do? Where do I get this cure?" Tom asked.

"Head over to Inkopolis Square, and head for where you see a greenish-blue mountain," Switch said, "That mountain is Mount Ikaiwa, a peaceful, but dangerous mountain to climb. From there, you will find a medicine that will help cure the Inkblot Disease. It's all the way at the top. But for an experienced squid like you, I shouldn't be so worried about how you'll do."

"Okay." Tom said.

"HALT! There is more," Switch yelled, "It has been said that DJ Octavio has enlisted some troops to guard the mountain. Some of the best elites, including Jenny Takonochi, and Alf-"

"Jenny?!" Tom suddenly shouted.

"Correct. She is one of the groups in charge of stopping intruders. Because people still go there." Switch replied. Tom looked at his hands to see they were still normal. Then he clenched them into fists.

"I will do this!" Tom yelled with a determined tone.

"However... I am afraid I also have to say someone else is back, too," Switch confessed, "There is mysterious, teal goo that has made its way to try and find a way back into this world. Commander Tartar."

"Commander Tartar? Alive?" Tom yelped.

"Yes. I just so happened to be the one to allow that AI to return," Switch said, "But he deemed worthless when trying to get revenge. Now... his goo remains to try and find a way back every single time. He could be waiting for you there, Tom. Just a brief warning."

"I'll do it. I will complete this mission." Tom finalized.

"Very well." Switch simply responded. He does the whole snap sound again, and some of Tom's equipment is there next to him.

"Your equipment for hiking that mountain is there, along with some extras," Switch stated, "You may need to find a way to slow the disease as you progress. But also try to find a way of defeating incoming Octolings, and... whatever Tartar seems to have with him. Climb the mountain, and obtain that cure. That's your goal."

"Understood. I will get that cure." Tom said as he salutes again.

"You have five days until the disease makes its way to the Terminal Stage. Don't blow it." Switch warned.

"I won't." Tom replied.

"Nani ni muchū ni natte iru ka wakaranai..." Switch groaned. And before Tom could ask, Switch just disappeared. Along with that, the sky turns normal again. Tom kept his confused look, but he shrugged it off.

Tom places his helmet back on his head, and then he finds his trusty weapon: his ink-shooting SCAR-L. And he also found the extras inside the large bag of equipment he had. All those extras are one that will help him during his hiking trip.

_"Tom, you don't have to do this. It's too dangerous. Who knows if Jenny will..." _Charlotte cried. But she stopped her sentence midway to know she doesn't want to finish her thought.

"I have to return that favor, Charlotte!" Tom exclaimed, "You died, and I wanna see if this can be fixed. You donated blood to save my life. If you didn't, I would've died. I have to do this. Please."

_"The donation was only lucky since we both have the same blood type..." _Charlotte admitted.

"And I will fix this mess we're in now. This time, Jenny will not ruin it." Tom said, feeling determined.

_"B... Be careful, Tom. Don't... don't let the disease corrupt you." _Charlotte responded. Tom could easily hear the sadness in her voice. Yeah, she does miss Tom just as much as he misses her. But it can be fixed since Switch gave him the mission! It will be normal again, right?

Right...?

"It's time. I must go." Tom said to himself. He made sure all of the equipment was inside the bag. And he double checked to make sure that nothing was left behind. And it's true. Everything Tom needed was all packed and ready to go.

And with that, Tom turned into his squid form, and super jumped away.

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's that. Okay, so I wanna get this out of the way. When it comes to the whole "characters die but come back to life somehow" cliche, I am EXTREMELY picky when it comes to that. You'll find out what'll happen in future chapters. :/**

**And yes, Tartar is going to return _again_. I am not sure if this is going to be his last appearance, but I did warn you all that he may appear in my stories again. Just saying. ;)**

**That's all for the first chapter tho The action is coming real soon in the next one. Stay Fresh, guys, and I will see you next time! :D**


	2. Octarian: Heading Somewhere

**Okay, everyone! I have returned yet again! Today, I unleash another chapter for this big Splatoon story! But this is gonna be a small chapter that takes place around the same time as the first chapter.**

**Anyways, I also want to point out that I've competed in my first local Smash Ultimate tournament yesterday. Of course, I did lose early on. But I still had a lot of fun, and it's just gonna encourage me to get better. :D**

**Once I do get some certain equipment, I'm going to start streaming on Twitch. As you may know, streaming is basically gonna be my future career, along with competing in Smash Ultimate eSports tournaments. So I am going to home my gaming skills in a lot than I ever had in my life. :p**

**So now, here is the mini chapter. Enjoy! ;)**

* * *

***scene: Cephalon HQ (during the same time as Tom's moments...)**

A group of six regular Octoling soldiers were fighting each other. Currently, they were going through a strict training routine. They all shouted as they attacked from the weapons they held in the palm of their hands.

On the sidelines of the big room, Jenny was there. She is the coach for this group, but only temporarily. She was watching them all with amusement, but also enjoyed the pain that was being viewed.

"Let's go, soldiers! Move it! Go!" Jenny demanded. The group kept on training as hard as they can. Because of how strict that Jenny could be, they don't wanna upset her.

But that's to say that for every Octoling in the army. They all know about Jenny, even if they never physically knew her. But one thing that made Jenny "infamous" is the fact she loves murder, and has a consistent record of victims she slaughtered.

But some were also confused on why Jenny could be a coach. What is something bad happened...?

But this is the whole HQ. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Five minutes pass by, and then Jenny blows a whistle, which made all the Octolings stop what they're doing. Jenny threw the whistle to the side, and she glares at the group.

"Positions at once!" She commanded. The whole group stood in a military pose. Jenny walked in front of them, looking at them while squinting her eyebrows. Everyone seemed a little nervous. But they showed the best hostile looks possible.

"Alright, you guys did better than the average soldiers would do," Jenny said, "But next time, I'd like to see some REAL hits. You wanna succeed, you gotta hit hard! Don't ever let your guard down on anybody, no matter what! Everyone got that?!"

"Yes ma'am!" The group said in unison while saluting.

"You all are dismissed! Now, shoo! Get outta here!" Jenny yelled. The group of soldiers march out of the big room, leaving Jenny in there by herself.

Jenny looked around, where she saw nothing but a bunch of training objects, along with weapons that some soldiers can rent for a bit. Other than that, the room seemed lively for being in an HQ so dull.

"Hope they bring a little blood to their fights next time. They need to understand the true meaning of pain." Jenny thought. She then reached behind her to grab her Octo Sword.

Her face is mirrored in the gray, shining, sharp part of the huge sword. She didn't change her expression though. She just kept her normal, boring look. Plus, she wasn't in her "insane mood" as of right now. Which put most of the people at ease.

They were afraid to know what happened if Jenny were to be knocked off her square. Things could get _real _ugly.

"Alright. This killer needs a break. Training those soldiers puts a lot of strength out of a woman." Jenny told herself. And then she leaves the room as soon as she was done with her thought.

* * *

***scene: another huge room in Cephalon HQ***

In this room, there were some long tables where a lot of Octarians were at, eating lunch. It was calm, and the noise wasn't too out of control. It had some chattering noises here and there, but it wasn't too bad.

On one table was where there was one Octoling boy all alone. He had black hair that was short, and had a small mohawk in the middle. He had the usual Neo Octoling Armor, and also had the seaweed on the sides of his head.

His shades didn't have a red dot unlike other Octolings. Instead, the dot was white. But it didn't really make much of a difference. Still felt the same way as he lives normally.

Soon enough, footsteps can be heard.

"Mm?" The male Octoling looked over, and he was surprised to see that it was none other than Jenny. She sat down next to the boy, and placed a tiny container in front of her. Inside the container was a sandwich.

"Ah, elite captain Jenny Takonochi. I a humbled for your sudden appearance." The boy said as he bows in his sitting position.

"Cut the carp, Alfred Octoetecia. No need for that respectful bow anymore. Just appreciate why I am here." Jenny teased. She opened the container and pulled the sandwich out.

"Is that your lunch?" Alfred asked as he points at the sandwich.

"Yeah. Ham and cheese with some crushed veggies put into it. Wanna share? Cause I see you got nothing on you right now." Jenny suggested.

"Of course, Jenny." Alfred said with a nod. Jenny tears the sandwich in half, and gives one of those halves to Alfred. Alfred smiles as he takes the half of the sandwich.

And shortly, the two dug into their lunches.

"So, Jenny..." Alfred started, "I do remember how you always like seeing me in any sort of uncertain moment possible. Would I assume this moment would count, too?"

"Hee hee, you got that right, dude. You should be used to encountering me at this point." Jenny giggled after swallowing another bite she had in her mouth.

"Of course." Alfred responded.

"But, eh, what's going on with you? Is that weapon finished yet?" Jenny questioned.

"Yep! It's finally out of its prototype stage. And it's ready to be put out into the battlefield!" Alfred responded excitedly.

"Awesome. Intruders won't know what's coming to them." Jenny chuckled, shaking her head side to side as she thought about some disturbing pain that could happen to her future victims.

"Yes. No one will ever expect the best of the best to suddenly attack at unexpected times." Alfred agreed. Jenny took another bite of her sandwich and nodded.

"Who's to say we would know it shortly? It's dumb Inklings we're talking about," She sighed, "Cuz in our lives, we can often realize when an Inkling tries to intrude upon our dome. I don't care _what _their excuse is. They're NOT living."

"Of course, Elite Captain Jenny. Inklings just don't understand." Alfred said.

"You and me both, dude." Jenny replied. And she continued eating her lunch, and Alfred kept eating his.

It was quiet for where the two Octolings were sitting right now. But no one bothered to look out where Jenny is seated currently. After all, they know that if anyone were to stalk her, she'd end their lives right where they stood.

And no one would want that.

The two were silent for 5 more minutes, and they were finally done with their lunch. Once that was done, Jenny spoke up.

"Next mission we go to, bring that new weapon along. We'll make enemies fear the two of us." She stated.

"Okay." Alfred said with a nod.

"But give me the full detail here, Alfred. What are the perks you have for it?" Jenny asked, shaking her hips side to side again.

"It does have a high range, Elite Captain Jenny, along with its power," Alfred explained, "The firing rate is also very fast, so it's gonna be impossible to ever avoid such. It comes equipped with Auto Bombs, but also has a secondary effect to start a Point Sensor just in case. And the Special Weapon... it's something you specially made yourself, Elite Captain."

"My experimented Tenta Missiles?" Jenny assumed.

"Yes. I researched all about them since you first showed them to me, and I knew I had to combine your specialty with mine." Alfred said. Then he got surprised when Jenny approached him from behind, and wrapped her arms around his waist, smirking.

"Desperate. It's such a nice feeling for me to do to you. So utterly vulnerable around me." Jenny teased.

"Y-Yes, Elite Captain Jenny. It's your love for me, and my love for you. It really shines within us both." Alfred responded, stuttering a bit. Jenny then walks to the left side, but not letting go. Then she extends her right arm, and flicks Alfred by his chin, just for a little affection.

"You speak the truth, boy." Jenny giggled.

_"Elite Captain Jenny, I would like you to please come to my office right now. I have something important to assign to you." _Octavio's voice was heard from the loud speakers hidden in the ceiling.

"Oh, it's the General." Alfred yelped.

"I wonder what the big, bad Octarian boss wants today." Jenny mumbled as she lets go.

"I'll see you back in the the main hallway, Elite Captain Jenny?" Alfred requested. Jenny grabs Alfred by his face, then kisses him on the cheek.

"Loud and clear." Jenny said. Then she turns away, and walks to where Octavio's office is at. But not before the two wave at each other one last time before Jenny parted ways with him.

* * *

***scene: DJ Octavio's office***

Jenny closes the door as soon as she steps her feet into the large office. There, she could see the Octarian boss himself, along with a kinda broken Octobot King II. It seems like it was close to being finished, or reconstructed.

"Gyah ha ha! Well, glad to see you came upon my request, Jenny!" Octavio laughed.

"Why wouldn't I? I'm not some inconsiderate idiot who is afraid to do orders. Anything that involves messing up the lives of others, I will do." Jenny scoffed.

"Jenny, I would appreciate it if you would stop the rudeness for a second and listen to what I have to tell you." Octavio grumbled.

"Well, that's why I'm here." Jenny giggled as she sat down on a large chair, across from her leader.

"Okay, Elite Captain Jenny Takonochi, listen up," Octavio bellowed, "It seems like we're getting a reading on Inklings trying to go to other places we were planning on heading to ourselves! We cannot allow this to happen, so we have to take action immediately. We're heading our first aims at Mount Ikaiwa, as it has the most critical nonsense."

"Mount Ikaiwa? Isn't that the famous tall mountain that is deemed peaceful, but very dangerous to climb because it's surrounded by an ocean?" Jenny asked.

"You are correct," Octavio replied, "I am unsure why such impudent inksquirts would want to start invading a dangerous mountain, but I assume it musn't be good. With this in mind, we also have to-"

"It's for this reason, sir." Jenny interrupted while showing a wide smirk. And she pulled out a very tiny canister that was filled with blue ink.

"Jenny. Dare I ask, whose blood is that?" Octavio questioned.

"This is little remains of Charlotte, one of the members of me created Ryuketsunoshi Army. She managed to betray us when she tried to hide her sympathy for Inklings." Jenny explained.

"Agh?! Charlotte?! Didn't you once tell me she tried to desert us before with her exile you told me about?!" Octavio yelped.

"Yes, it's _that _Charlotte. Thanks to me, she is gone from this world. However, I am unaware of the location of Jackson, Riley, Emily, and Samantha. They seemed to have disappeared after Charlotte's death." Jenny muttered.

"That would probably be because they were close to her just as you were." Octavio said.

"HEE HEE! AH HA HA HA HA HA! ME?! Feel sympathy for HER?! Foolish! Completely stupid and irrelevant! The whole army was never my friends to begin with!" Jenny yelled, "I only hired them to make a group in wishes to take down Inkopolis! That's all! Not me for to hang around people, because everyone is going to die one day if they're in this army! It's dumb in general!"

"Jenny, calm yourself. Let's get back on our task here!" Octavio commanded.

"You're right. Best not to let my anger get to such idiocy." Jenny scoffed as she crossed her arms.

"Anyway, I think it would be best if you would arrive at Mount Ikaiwa. For the sake of defending it, but also finding out any mysteries." Octavio said.

"I accept. But also because of this," Jenny giggled, "You know how this little thing has Charlotte's remains? Think again. The rest of her remains are in the ocean of Mount Ikaiwa. And in case anyone wants it, I'm gonna take that back for myself, and break it before they can ever get the chance. Execution gone cruel!"

"You make valid points, Elite Captain Jenny. But I do want to say you'll need someone to help you out. But since you told me the whereabouts of the Ryuketsunoshi Army..." Octavio grumbled.

"How about Alfred Octoetecia?" Jenny assumed.

"Really? The leader of the OctoTeeth Army? You don't know them! Alfred is not to be trifled with!" Octavio cried.

"I wouldn't think so. Alfred and I grew on each other. _He _actually knows not to trifle with _me_," Jenny boasted, "He is similar to me in so many ways: bloodlust, betrayal, and belligerent experiences in this army. You name it! And trust me, he knows what I'll do to him if he ever tries to do something stupid. But I doubt it would happen."

"Very well then. Contact Alfred, and tell him where you are heading to. Do not hesitate during the mission! It's important to be wary!" Octavio commanded.

"Whatever, whatever. You got my point." Jenny said with a shrug. Then she stands up and walks to the entrance door, knowing Octavio is watching her walk out.

Before Jenny left, she turns back to the Octarian general with a smirk.

"And by the way... _you're _the one who hesitates, General Octavio. Get with the program. Murders are all the rage." She teased. Octavio growls in surprise once, but he didn't get a chance to react because Jenny was already gone by now.

Jenny pulls out her device used for communication, and presses a button. She knew it was Alfred as soon as she heard the sounds from the other side.

"Alfred. Come to my office. We're going somewhere." Jenny insanely giggles as she walks to her office.

* * *

**A/N: Aight, that's the mini chapter done. Gonna be brainstorming and writing more often on Mondays and Wednesdays to try and see if I can at least get something out by then. This story is just getting to the rising action. Or it's probably not there yet. ;)**

**But yeah, that's all for today. Stay Fresh, and I'll see ya next time! :D**


	3. Next Chapter Preview

**Hello. So, as you can tell my the title of this, this is just a preview. I would've gotten the whole chapter in by then, but I am just so freaking angry right now.**

**Why am I angry, you may ask? I'm mad at YouTube for existing and giving me all this clunky crap, and I am mad at my phone, my iPad, AND my computer for trying to give me clunky spelling. **

**So yes, I am VERY ****_tilted _****(next statement has definition) right now. **

**Tilted: a gamer term used to describe rage.**

**Ex: this Clam Blitz match is making me very tilted! I'm done!**

**But I have a preview for you guys so you aren't left with nothing. I promise you the chapter will come in today or tomorrow whenever I have the chance.**

* * *

***the next day...***

Tom arrives at the big mountain by boat. Luckily, he managed to arrive there just in time with no further delays on any other boats heading out to other places.

He steps foot on the island, and the boat leaves immediately as soon as Tom stepped off. So now he takes a look at the mountain.

As Switch described, the mountain was peaceful. It might be more cold the higher up because of the altitude, but there is no snow at all, so that's something that shouldn't be expected. As for the look of the part of the mountain Tom was in right now...

It looked like normal grasslands, with a grassy ground, some dirt, and a few flowers and bushes. And then, there was the huge, gray mountain in the center of it all. And as Tom looked up, he saw that it was REALLY big.

More bigger than he expected it to be.

_"Tom... are you sure about this?" _Charlotte's voice was heard again.

"I am sure, Charlotte. Even then, I already made the bet, so it's too late now." Tom sighed.

_"If only I could come help you. This... seems too risky..." _Charlotte muttered.

"Every day is a risky day for me. This won't be much of a difference." Tom said. But he wasted no more time after that, he started climbing that mountain, with a little help from some of the hiking equipment that Switch gave to him.

But Tom was super experienced with anything, as he is one of the best Operatives of the Special Forces Group. Resisting torture is one thing, but climbing a mountain will be a little tricky for the squid.

Be he stayed focused on the mission, as he needed to do this in order to save Charlotte, and also get rid of the Inkblot Disease that Switch corrupted him with.

About 3 minutes of climbing, and Tom reaches the first, small base of the mountain. The base was made entirely of stone, which makes sense because the base is literally part of the huge mountain.

Tom quietly gasped as he backed up just a little bit from what he saw. And he realized how dangerous this was going to be.

There were four elite Octolings. Though these ones were... a little different. They had the Neo Armor, yes, but there was a small difference.

Instead of shades, these elites had goggles with a red tint to the point where their eyes are unseeable, just like the shades. But they also had a gas mask around their mouths. Other than that, those are the only differences.

"Oh no. It can't be." Tom mumbled.

"Ah, but it _can _be, Tom. And it is. Because you just so happen to fight me for almost any mission you consummate." A male voice evilly chuckled. Tom gasped louder, and then he gotten more angry as he held his weapon in his hands tightly.

A male Octoling walks towards him. Black hair with a small mohawk, and the usual Neo armor, but includes the shades. This elite evilly smirks as he slowly pulled out a knife.

Tom growled upon seeing this.

"Alfred..." He said quietly.

* * *

**A/N: Aight, that's it for the preview. See you all at the next chapter coming someday.**


	4. Mountain Territory

**Hi guys! At last, I have returned! Here we are, now that my anger is gone, I had enough courage and sympathy to release another chapter.**

**Nothing else to say, other than that. For now, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! :D **

**P.S.: U know I'm back to normal when I use emoticons again. ;)**

* * *

***the next day...***

Tom arrives at the big mountain by boat. Luckily, he managed to arrive there just in time with no further delays on any other boats heading out to other places.

He steps foot on the island, and the boat leaves immediately as soon as Tom stepped off. So now he takes a look at the mountain.

As Switch described, the mountain was peaceful. It might be more cold the higher up because of the altitude, but there is no snow at all, so that's something that shouldn't be expected. As for the look of the part of the mountain Tom was in right now...

It looked like normal grasslands, with a grassy ground, some dirt, and a few flowers and bushes. And then, there was the huge, gray mountain in the center of it all. And as Tom looked up, he saw that it was REALLY big.

More bigger than he expected it to be.

_"Tom... are you sure about this?" _Charlotte's voice was heard again.

"I am sure, Charlotte. Even then, I already made the bet, so it's too late now." Tom sighed.

_"If only I could come help you. This... seems too risky..." _Charlotte muttered.

"Every day is a risky day for me. This won't be much of a difference." Tom said. But he wasted no more time after that, he started climbing that mountain, with a little help from some of the hiking equipment that Switch gave to him.

But Tom was super experienced with anything, as he is one of the best Operatives of the Special Forces Group. Resisting torture is one thing, but climbing a mountain will be a little tricky for the squid.

Be he stayed focused on the mission, as he needed to do this in order to save Charlotte, and also get rid of the Inkblot Disease that Switch corrupted him with.

About 3 minutes of climbing, and Tom reaches the first, small base of the mountain. The base was made entirely of stone, which makes sense because the base is literally part of the huge mountain.

Tom quietly gasped as he backed up just a little bit from what he saw. And he realized how dangerous this was going to be.

There were four elite Octolings. Though these ones were... a little different. They had the Neo Armor, yes, but there was a small difference.

Instead of shades, these elites had goggles with a red tint to the point where their eyes are unseeable, just like the shades. But they also had a gas mask around their mouths. Other than that, those are the only differences.

"Oh no. It can't be." Tom mumbled.

"Ah, but it _can _be, Tom. And it is. Because you just so happen to fight me for almost any mission you consummate." A male voice evilly chuckled. Tom gasped louder, and then he gotten more angry as he held his weapon in his hands tightly.

A male Octoling walks towards him. Black hair with a small mohawk, and the usual Neo armor, but includes the shades. This elite evilly smirks as he slowly pulled out a knife.

Tom growled upon seeing this.

"Alfred..." He said quietly.

"I'm afraid it's the end of the line for you here, Tom. Would it be alright if I asked where your fellow teammates are currently at?" Alfred mocked, placing his hands on his hips, but still holding onto the knife.

"That's none of your concern." Tom snapped.

"I suppose not, since we've been through this many times before. We know how it goes." Alfred chuckled.

"Why are you here, at the mountain? Lost something?" Tom asked, still not hesitating from attacking the elite Octoling very shortly.

"I came here on behalf of DJ Octavio," Alfred explained, "As leader of the OctoTeeth Army, you know I can take any chance on being the head of dangerous missions that you have decided to head onto. But... I will admit something."

"Speak." Tom demanded.

"I am not the one leading this army. Nor did Octavio directly assign the mission to me. No, it was someone else." Alfred said.

"And who gave you this so-called 'mission'?" Tom questioned.

"It is none other than the one Octoling I am extremely loyal to: Elite Captain Jenny Takonochi." Alfred replied. Tom gasped once he heard that name, then he gripped his weapon tighter, ready to shoot immediately.

"So you're working for her?! The person who killed Charlotte?!" He yelled.

"Hm? Oh, that's right. Jenny told me what happened," Alfred chuckled, "Even though Jenny did it on accident, but was still satisfied with the result. She killed another person who was deemed worthless to her. That's a _real _shame."

"Do NOT mock her like that, Alfred!" Tom screeched.

"Ugh, I'm tired of talking," Alfred groaned, "We're here for a fight, and that's what _will _happen. Ladies, attack him!"

The four elite Octolings that were on Alfred's side grabbed their weapons. But this isn't an Octo Shot that Tom is always used to seeing. No, it looked like an AK-47 assault rifle. But... it was modified to shoot ink.

No way! Another human gun discovered by an evil group?

Alfred had the same exact weapon in his hands. He evilly smirks as he looks at the ninth operative, who was shaking a bit. But he didn't bother to give up there.

Two of the four minor elite Octolings began shooting from this newly-refined weapon. Ink was shot from it at a very high speed, that Tom wasn't prepared for it. He ended up getting knocked back just a little bit.

Tom groans as he sits up, recovering from the attack. But the elites didn't stop there. When they aimed their next attack, Tom took this quick opportunity to jump out of the way of the fast, incoming shots.

"It's gonna take more than that to splat me!" Tom shouted.

"Of course. We do know that. I've known you for many years, Tom. So I know what skills you have." Alfred said. He points at Tom, and then all four elite Octolings began to attack.

Tom quickly adjusts his helmet, and starts running away from the incoming attacks. As he got enough space for attacking, he began to shoot from the Scar-L, the purplish-blue ink quickly flying towards the group of elites.

Only one of them took the hit, and by then, she was very weakened from it. While distracted, Tom tried to finish that one, as she was still trying to recover.

But more of them blocked the way and began shooting from their own weapons.

"Guh!" Tom yelped. He turned into his squid form, and swam in his ink so he had an easier getaway from the fast shots.

Alfred just evilly chuckles, as if he knows something. He turns his own rifle around where it was aimed at him. But he let the bottom part of the rifle aim at Tom's ink puddle.

Alfred pressed a button on the bottom of the rifle, and a Point Sensor was shot!

It scanned around the large puddle, where Alfred was immediately scanned by it, which gave away his location in the ink.

"He's right there! Attack!" Alfred commanded. And all the elites began to attack the moving spot where Tom was swimming around.

Tom cried out in pain as the shots landed right on him. He was forced to turn back into his humanoid form, and lay on his stomach as the pain of the ink settles in on him.

"How?! How did you easily spot me?!" Tom yelled.

"Sorry, bud, things are best to only be kept in Cephalon HQ. Not for any squids to know." Alfred teased. He didn't even give a command when the other elites began to continue their attacking.

But Tom quickly scrambled up, and he managed to dodge the attacks.

And then he held onto his gun again, and this time, his own shots began to splat a couple of the elite Octolings. Two of them in fact.

Those two weren't prepared for what Tom had up his sleeves. So they were immediately splatted, a large, black puddle forming, and their little octopus ghosts floating up so they can find the nearest respawn pad.

"Huh?" Alfred yelped, showing a surprised look.

"You musn't forget that I have an old human-refined gun, too, Alfred." Tom chuckled, showing a smirk.

"Grr... that can be arranged." Tom growled. He stomps his foot, and the remaining two Octolings began to attack. Tom angrily frowns as he uses his gun to block the incoming ink shots.

But Tom yelped as the gun was knocked out of his hands, which made sense for it to happen, as these shots were coming very, very fast.

Tom did a small super jump backwards as the two Octolings began to keep attacking. But Alfred was getting impatient. He decided to join in on the shooting, in hopes of taking Tom down quicker than he thinks.

But Tom already got his weapon as he evades the opposing ink. But Alfred managed to get a couple shots off the squid, as he is more experienced than the elites in his group. He's the leader for a reason.

Before Alfred could even notice, the last two elites were splatted by Tom's Scar-L. Alfred showed a shocked look for a couple seconds, but then he just smiles and chuckles as he lowers his head.

"Okay, I'll give you credit. You managed to defeat the minions. Of course, you aren't lying when you are obtaining your goals during your missions." Alfred said. Tom just grumbles, and then he points his weapon at the male elite leader. But then Tom's eyes widened as he looked at his hands.

He noticed his fingertips were a pure black. He quietly gasped. This must be one of the symptoms for the Inkblot Disease. Why did Switch have to make this mission a little _too _dangerous? Dealing with Alfred is already enough, but he has to control a disease as he's doing so!

Unfortunately, the black fingertips did not go unnoticed by Alfred.

"Why are your fingers black, huh? Are they getting a case of the whole 'green thumb' thing, but black?" Alfred mocked.

"Shut up!" Tom exclaimed.

"Okay. But seriously, Tom. Like I said, I know your tricks," Alfred stated, "There is no way you're going to trick me with those black fingers you got there. Of course, I wouldn't mind if this was a trick or not. But I suggest you stop stalking now."

"It's not a trick, Alfred. This is real. But I'm not gonna let it get through to me!" Tom yelled. Alfred just silently chuckles, lowering his head again to make it sound quieter.

Then he shows an angry look as he grips his weapon tighter.

"No more of this stalling! If you haven't learned by now, I am the leader of the OctoTeeth Army, one of the dangerous groups of the whole Octarian Army!" Alfred shouted, "Every day, I run around as a predator to those who invade! And right now, you're my prey! And now, you'll notice this battle is going to end, with your body to be the next trophy! For me, for Octavio, and especially for Elite Captain Jenny!"

"Bring it on!" Tom commanded.

"I will bring it on!" Alfred exclaimed. And then he attacks from his own weapon, trying to get a few hits off of Tom. However, unlike the last time, Tom sidestepped out of the way so he doesn't suffer what happened the last time.

The two enemies began to clash with their ink-shooting weapons. Though Alfred knew what Tom's strategies are every time they meet, Tom always changes things up every time so he doesn't feel weakened for each fight they get into.

Tom's own Scar-L was very formidable, that he's used to using it to fight at this point. But since Alfred knows what it's all about, he makes sure that he can use his new human-refined weapon to counter against it.

No longer having to use an Octo Shot as a counter. This was Alfred's big moment.

The two kept on trading blows from their weapons. Shot after shot after shot. There was no sign of giving up within these two. They were starting to lose a little control with their blows, but they didn't bother to stop. One of them _had _to prevail over the other eventually.

But soon...

"Ack!" Tom yelped as he was pinned down by Alfred.

"Alright, my fellow enemy. Time to say goodbye! But first... any last requests?" Alfred mocked as he grabs his knife, letting go of his own weapon.

_"You know what to do..." _Charlotte's voice can be heard in Tom's head. Tom narrowed his brows as he suddenly had an idea. It was a noticeable sign, but not too predictable for Alfred to know what he needs to expect.

"I dunno, something... special?" Tom chuckled.

_Ding! _

His hair began to glow.

Alfred grits his teeth in anger, and then raises the knife, ready to kill the operative.

But then Tom transformed into a Kraken, and knocks the male elite off of him. Alfred yelped as he ran over to get his weapon, to try and counter back.

"No!" He yelped. He tried to stop Tom, but it was impossible, as Tom was completely invulnerable in his Kraken form. Alfred even tried to slash the Kraken with his knife, but that also didn't work at all.

Soon, Tom raises one of his Kraken tentacles, and punches Alfred straight in the face. And the force was so high, it ended up knocking him out, unconscious.

Tom reverted back to his normal form, as the special is already over until the next charge.

"Okay, now to get out of here." He mumbled. And then he continued his progress to climb the mountain. Even though the mountain was dangerous, there were certainly enough large spots that can be used for taking breaks from all that climbing.

As Tom was already high up enough to get away from Alfred, it didn't seem lucky, as the elite woke up. But he didn't give chase.

Instead, Alfred reached into his pocket to grabs his communication device. He held the button, and spoke into it.

"It's all up to you. Find him." He whispered.

* * *

***30 minutes later...***

Tom walked around another large flat spot, looking for any more Octolings. But there wasn't any so far, so Tom was in the clear. But the squid was still wary, as he knows how sneaky that Octolings can be.

Tom looked at his fingers, on both of his hands. They were a pure black, and it doesn't look like it's gonna change back to their normal color any time soon.

"I hope I find that cure soon. Not only for me. But for Charlotte." Tom thought. He shook the thought off, and continued wandering around the large area.

"Hee hee hee hee! How delightful that you managed to make it this far!" A woman's voice is heard. Tom shuddered upon hearing it, as he knew who was talking.

Footsteps can be heard. Soon, Tom turned forward, and he saw Jenny slowly walking towards him with an evil smile.

"Alfred told me that you managed to escape him. Giving the amount of time, he could be coming back for you _real _soon." Jenny said.

"You... you dirty innocence killer." Tom snapped.

"Oh, why thank you." Jenny giggled, placing her hand on her chest.

"That wasn't a compliment!" Tom shouted.

"I get that a lot. I'm used to it, so it's _like _a compliment to me." Jenny responded. And then she began to pace around him.

Tom would be the one to try and attack her like he felt with Alfred, but he knows what Jenny is like. Even landing one unexpected move at her would cost the poor squid his own life. And he wouldn't want that. His journey merely started!

_"Tom... don't attack right away. Just... wait it out." _Charlotte reminded. Tom didn't respond, but he just glares at the pacing Octoling.

"HA!" Jenny snarled as she leaned forward a little bit to try and scare him. Tom didn't flinch, but he felt a little nervous. Jenny just insanely chuckles as she goes back to her pacing, leaving Tom on the brink of doing something.

"So, what even brings you here to the most manipulative mountain of all of Inkopolis?" Jenny asked.

"I could be asking the same to you." Tom exclaimed.

"Boss's orders. He knew Inklings would like to explore peaceful places. This, in fact, is one of them." Jenny giggled. She then took her attention to the operative again, and she caught a glance at his fingers.

"Oh, why are your fingers black? Are you being corrupted?" She questioned.

"I won't tell you." Tom simply said.

"Hee hee, I knew something like that was going to be your answer." Jenny sighed as she shook her head side to side, still keeping her devilish smile on.

"Would it be alright if you left me alone? I won't wanna be talking to you after what you've done to Charlotte!" Tom yelled.

"Oh, please. She wouldn't have died if you didn't stand around like a moron. Don't you know what it's like to be a soldier?" Jenny threatened.

"I know all about it. And I won't let you take advantage of that." Tom snapped.

"I'll be honest with you, Inkling. Today, I'm not in a... bloody mood," Jenny stated, "It's rare for me to be like that in my whole life. But I am just interested in how strong my newly met opponents can be. Of course, we did meet before. Briefly. But you do remember that we'd meet again, correct?"

"Every detail." Tom growled.

"Okay, how about we make a little deal, boy?" Jenny insanely giggles, "If you leave now, I'll let you go. Just as long as you promise not to spread word. But, if you don't... I'm going to kill you. Simple as that. Choice is yours, Inkling."

"I'm not leaving until I get what I came for!" Tom shouted.

"Alright. Have it your way." Jenny said. Then she stops in front of Tom, and pulls out an ultimate edge knife. Tom slightly shuddered, as he knew that is one of the sharpest knives in the world, if not _the _sharpest knife in the world.

"Okay, you wanna fight?! Bring it on!" Tom yelled. Jenny evilly smirks as she points the knife at him.

"Three... two..." Tom mumbled. He waited two more seconds after that, and then...

He began to run away, right past Jenny. Instead of being shocked by the action, Jenny just shows a wide, insane smile as she tilts her head to one side, her pupils shrinking.

"Where are you going, coward?! Running from the fight ALREADY?!" Jenny screeched. Tom got even more nervous for hearing Jenny's quick change of tone. She was talking in a serious and calm tone one second, and now she's screaming, and her accent is at the point where she would just immediately murder you without hesitation.

Tom was relieved he didn't fight right away. He was lucky to pick the choice of running away. His life would've been easily wasted if so. Charlotte would also be proud, knowing that she has the knowledge of what Jenny is like, and how she fights.

Tom kept on running, to focus on losing sight of the insane woman. During the chase, she kept on rambling that she is gonna kill him. No manipulating with a reward or anything like that. She just straight up says she's gonna kill him.

5 minutes of running, and Tom noticed Jenny was far away from his sight. With this time, Tom kept climbing up the mountain, hoping to get away before the insane Octoling can find him.

Eventually, Jenny reached another part of the mountain. She looked around, but she saw no sign of Tom. She snarls in anger, the only emotion in her mind, to know that her victim has escaped her.

But this time, she kept her cool, and brought out her device. She holds the button with her pointer finger.

"Meet me at the top. We got a squid to kill." She said with a devilish grin.

* * *

Tom made it to another big section of the whole mountain. The sky was already getting a little dark.

"Huff... finally, away from those two maniacs." Tom sighed.

_"Are you going to be okay, Tom? Please don't push yourself to go any farther for now." _Charlotte pleaded.

"Hm... you're right, Charlotte," Tom sighed, "And plus, I need some energy after escaping those two strong Octolings. Alfred was enough for me, but... I'll admit, I was lucky to escape Jenny. She didn't mess around."

_"Yeah, she's desperate to kill anyone she finds." _Charlotte admitted.

"I'm going to set up a little camp and get some rest. Until to the point where we'll lose sight of the enemies." Tom said.

_"Okay... just always be aware, Tom." _Charlotte sighed.

"Will do." Tom responded. And then he reaches into his equipment bag to get ready to set up a camp for the night.

* * *

**A/N: And there we go. That's it for now.**

**So we saw how Alfred fights, and Jenny tried to find Tom as well. Next up, things are going to get a little bit clean... and sanitized. :p**

**Hope y'all are hyped for the next chapter! Stay Fresh, and I'll cya next time! :D**


	5. Memory 1

**Alright, so. I've decided to make some memory chapters. That way, you guys can have a more clear understanding for Tom, Alfred and Charlotte when the past moments all connect together. Of course, these take place back then, so it's not after the recent chapter of this story. ;)**

**So, here is the first memory. Enjoy! :D**

**P.S.: I was writing angry, apparently. Stuff happened where I did a fist slam. Someone get me a therapist.**

* * *

***5:30 PM, Takoyaki Suburb Village***

The locan news station turned on very abruptly, which interrupted any channel that was playing right now. There, a blue background can now be seen. And then there was also an Inkling boy with short green hair, wearing a suit and tie, and he was sitting on a chair near a desk that the news was currently showing right now.

_"This is an authorized message to the people within the Takoyaki Suburb. As of 5:01 PM this afternoon..." _He started. He turned back to the blue background, as if he was waiting for something to appear.

Then, on the top right corner, there was a poster with the Octarian symbol, in a dark purple background. And underneath the icon, it had the word "WARNING" in all caps, and also in bright yellow font with a deep red outline.

_"Several Octolings, wearing the Octo Armor, have entered the storage building of Ikapurita Bank." _The man continued. The Octarian poster went away, and it was replaced with the bank, along with a police car right by it.

_"Everyone is advised to stay away from the Police Operational Area, which is settled up recently, to handle the situation." _The man warned. He looked at his papers, and turned back to the blue background.

The image disappears, and then gets replaced of an image with a white van.

_"Fortunately, as a result of helping out with the heist," _The newscaster added, _"Special Forces leader, Dave Matiasu, has accepted in helping to stop the sudden. He opted two of his trainees to head out to the base. But he has also given a chance to one of his other operatives, Tom Howzit, to go there as well, as this will be his first mission for him to head out to. The police are not aware of their arrival, but they will find out soon enough."_

Static could be heard as the news channel was suddenly being brought away.

_"*krzt* Please stay tuned to this station for further news and updates to this escalating situation." _The newscaster finalized, before the channel faded to black almost immediately.

* * *

***scene: Inkapurita Bank***

Unfortunately for the bank, the heist was easily overrun by the thieves who broke in. As the newscaster explained before, the whole group was Octolings.

All these Octolings were wearing the Neo Armor, including the shades. But... all the Octolings in this group were males. There was no female Octoling in sight of the heist, which is ironic considering that most Octolings are girls. At least in the army.

Luckily, there were a bunch of security cameras around the place. So they were catching footage of whatever the Octolings were doing. The first security camera caught one male Octoling pointing his Octo Shot at one of the windows in the lobby, waiting to see if people would want to go in.

The second security camera showed the same thing, but just in a different angle.

The third security camera shows two more Octolings behind the desk, pointing their weapons at anything they deemed suspicious, especially for waiting for any intruders to try and stop them.

The fourth security camera displayed another area, where three Octolings were patrolling what seems to be the entrance to a secret area in the bank.

And the fifth security camera shows two more Octolings in the manager's office, where one of them was trying to steal something priceless as a part of the bank. The camera zooms into the Octoling that is stealing, noticing that there was something different about that one compared to the others.

But...

_KZZZZRRRRRRRRT_

The camera was slowly fading into a static form, losing its sight of the Octolings, Soon, the camera just shuts off abruptly, losing all video feed of the Octolings.

* * *

***outside the bank...***

The white van arrives and opens the doors, where three Inklings step on the ground.

_"All police units, pull back from the bank at the distance of nearly 8 meters and hold position," _Radio chatter can be heard, _"An insertion team had been dispatched to a building near the bank. All communications have been ordered to be silent to ensure radio silence. We will lift the protocol when we contact again. For now, radio silence is now implemented."_

And the chatter ends with the sound of static. Followed by that was a loud beep.

The three Inklings who left the van are now walking down the street. The Inkling on the left had light skin and green hair. For his gear, he had white headphones, a gas mask, army goggles, and the usual Special Forces attire, along with a helmet to cover his hair. This was Albert, or Operative 11.

The Inkling on the middle also had light skin, but his hair was a dark red. But his hair can be seen, and it is resulted that his hair is spiky, but with a ponytail at the end. For the gear, he wore the white headphones like Albert, and he also has a gask mask, but his goggles are more larger, and look more like safety goggles. The attire stays the same though. This person is Solutus, or Operative 6.

And the Inkling on the right has light skin and purple hair, and the style is short, but has a ponytail at the end like Solutus. Other than the usual attire, this Inkling wore an army helmet with a headset built into it. This person is none other than Tom, better known as Operative 9.

The group vault over the small wall near the bank. And soon, they lean against the wall and look around to make sure that nobody was following them. Fortunately for them, no one was stalking. So they get into a sneaky, but steady position.

"Alright, let's go over this one last time," Tom whispered to the other two operatives, "Solutus and I will enter via the back door, while Albert will move in from the roof. We clear the lobby first before we clear the vault and the Manager's Office. Got that?"

"Copy squad lead." Solutus replied. The three look at each other and nod one more time before they set out to the bank and avoid incoming Octolings.

Tom and Solutus enter the back door, and they tip toe to not make a sound as they try to find any Octoling guards.

"Sol, hold." Tom warned as he put his hand out front near his pal. Solutus stopped in his tracks as Tom takes a quick peek to find out what's on the other side.

"Copy... what's up?" Solutus questioned.

"Saw a muddle flash of an Octo Shot. I confirm there might be an Octarian on sight." Tom responded.

_"*kzrt* Make that four in the room, Squad Lead," _Albert's voice is heard through Tom's headset, _"Got eyes on all four. Plus, there's some in the vault, and the manager's office, captured via CCTV cameras installed before being cut off."_

Tom shows a small smirk as he knows they got enough proof.

"You got the flash bang, Operative 6?" Tom whispered as he touches the headset to communicate.

_"Affirmative, Operative 9. Got one to drop down the vent."_ Albert answered.

"Alright. Squad, switch to MIKO (Mid-Ink Knockout) rounds. Go in Non-Splat rounds only." Tom commanded.

"Copy, Squad Lead." Albert said.

"Affirmative, Lead." Solutus added.

In another part of the bank, Albert can be seen. He opens the vent just a tiny bit, and gently throws a flash bang in there. Then he swiftly closes the vent right after he threw the flash bang in. He stays back just a little bit, ready to hear a noise soon enough.

Down below, an Octoling boy looks around, not noticing anything yet.

_Clink!_

"Hm?" He hummed as he turns over to notice the flash bang on the ground.

"Huh? What is tha-" He mumbled, but then...

_BANG!_

A bright flash is made, blinding the Octoling temporarily, with the sound of ears ringing. The Octoling moaned as he took off his shades and rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the bright flash that hurt his eyes.

Back up above, Albert is there. He loads his SCAR-L, and shoots it. Green ink is spread in a straight pattern. He splatted that Octoling, along with the other three once they soon suffered the same fate of the flash bang.

But since this is a "non-splat mode", it only knocked all four Octolings out.

Albert moves down from the roof, and lands on the ground. Eventually, Tom and Solutus meet up with him.

"Alright. Seems like the other two detachments within this building had been alert," Tom said in a soft and quiet voice, "We have to go to the vault room next. Then the Manager's Office."

"Sounds good." Albert replied.

"Same as me." Solutus added.

"Alright. Sol, take the other door. Albert, you're with me." Tom reminded.

"Got it, Tom." Albert said. Solutus heads the other way, and Tom and Albert head out on their own.

But immediately as the two arrive in the next room, some remaining Octolings look at them angrily, aiming their Octo Shots, and ready to shoot them.

"Intruder alert! Take them down!" One of them screamed. And then they all began shooting all at once. But Tom and Albert were prepared.

Albert quickly inks a straight path from his own weapon, then he turns into his squid form and swims along that path. The Octolings tried to catch the green operative, but he was just too fast.

Soon Albert snuck from behind one of the Octolings, and lands a kick from the back of his neck. The others looked at their fallen comrade, and they began to take aim at Albert.

But Tom quickly shot the remaining Octolings ultimately knocking them out from the amount of opposing ink put onto them. Albert meets back up with Tom, and they nod in unison, but they kept their serious look.

Soon, the two scurried over to the manager's office.

"Okay, I'm going to break into the office and stop the Octolings there," Tom whispered, "Albert, I want you to meet back up with Sol at the lobby. When you do, say you're retreating back to the van so we can spread the information gathered."

"Got it, Squad Lead." Albert replied. And then he made his way there. Tom was slightly surprised that he wasn't hesitant about it, but he didn't mind either way. Right now, he had some Octolings to stop.

Tom breaks down the door, and runs over to the scene. One of the Octolings had a scared look, as he was being held by another male Octoling from behind his neck.

Tom aimed his SCAR-L at the two.

"Halt! Lower the knife!" The ninth operative commanded.

"Well... we meet at last." The Octoling's captive said with an evil chuckle, as he points the knife closer to the scared boy. Though the Octoling holding the captive can barely be seen because he was behind.

"I said _lower the knife!_" Tom shouted in a more angry tone.

"Ha! Such a squid with little experience," The major Octoling laughed, "Did your friends know how good you are?"

"S-Sir... please... l-let me... go..." The captive begged.

"Zip it, comrade! Unless you want me to taste your blood, heh heh!" The boy behind the captive demanded. Tom was disgusted upon hearing that statement.

"Egh! Such a guy wanting to taste that poor soul's blood! That's not good!" He grumbled.

"Now! Let me tell you my name, Operative! My... name... is..." The major started. Soon enough, he jumps to the right side, revealing himself, but still holding onto his scared captive.

"ALFRED OCTOETECIA!" The captive's major evilly laughed. Alfred had the same hairstyle as his captive, but there was another small curl in the middle of the mohawk. And Alfred's shades had a white dot, unlike the scared Octoling, whose had a red dot like the rest.

Tom growls as he points his gun at Alfred.

"I'm saying this again! Lower the knife, or I'll take further action!" Tom yelled.

"Further action! FURTHER ACTION! There's no action here! It already happened there, eh! Ha ha! You make me laugh!" Alfred teased, showing a wide evil smile, "Now then! How about some action, eh!"

In a swift movement, Alfred swings the knife at the left side of his captive's head. The poor boy gasped loudly as blood began to spurt out from that side. However, Alfred did not seem to mind it one bit.

Tom shouts a loud battle cry as he starts shooting. As it was fired, Alfred took all the hits, but he laughed as he was sent flying back.

"AHH! The pain is GOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" He laughed. But ultimately, he lays down, as the pain still allowed him to feel the after affects of being weakened. But it did not bother him one bit.

Tom looked at the other bleeding Octoling down below. It was too late to save him, as maybe some other Octarians would come any minute now.

"*sigh* What have I just witnessed?" Tom told himself. But he had to save his time right now. So he sprinted out of the office after his sentence was said.

Alfred quickly woke up, showing an evil smirk. He grabs his shades, and then takes them off, revealing his gray eyes.

"No escaping from me just yet, operative...!" He whispered to himself.

* * *

***outside the bank, about 38 minutes later***

After all that time, Albert and Solutus took the time to try and find any info that the Octolings tried to steal. And they began to file a report for the HQ when they all return. Now the two were just waiting for Tom to come back.

Tom almost arrived at the van, after taking care of the rest of the Octolings who tried to get in his way.

"Tom! Sol! I'll be there shortly!" Tom called out, but also pressing his headset before talking, just in case they were too far away to hear from this distance.

Tom kept on running, hoping to get to the van a little faster.

"AHHHH!" Tom shrieked as he felt a sharp pain from inside him. Tom looked down below him, and...

he saw someone stabbed him straight in the chest, with blood protruding as soon as it made contact. Tom started constantly gasping as he looked in front of him to see who just stabbed him.

And he saw it was Alfred, with a wide evil smile.

Tom really felt that pain. But it got even worse when Alfred stabbed Tom eight more times, in that same spot. Tom tried not to scream, but the pain was too much for him. He was losing a lot of blood.

And for the last stab Alfred given him, the evil Octoling twists the knife clockwise as it was still dug into Tom's chest, in which the ninth operative shrieked even louder as the pain was unbearable at this point.

Tom falls to the floor, a puddle of blood forming below him. Alfred takes the knife out, and... starts licking the blood off the knife.

"Ha ha!" He laughed, "Your blood tastes good for me, Tom. Well, time for me to go. I'm satisfied enough. Ciao!"

Alfred turns into his octopus form, and super jumps away, leaving Tom to lay down, weakened.

Suddenly, the white van pulls by, and Albert and Solutus exited the moving vehicle, rushing towards Tom. The purple operative was hyperventilating as blood kept coming out. Albert held Tom in his arms, but Albert and Solutus stayed close by their purple comrade.

"TOM!" Solutus shouted.

"This isn't happening. This CAN'T be happening!" Albert cried.

"Calm down, Albert. Now's not the time to panic." Solutus said, regaining his composure. Albert takes a few deep breaths, and he calms down a bit, but still a little panicky.

Solutus places his hand on Tom's arm, and feels his pulse.

"Thank goodness he's still alive... but he's knocked out. Those nine stab wounds really screwed him over." Solutus sighed. And it's true, Tom was currently unconscious at the moment.

"Talk about sarcasm," Albert scoffed, "Better bandage him up, and I'll get HQ to send in a ambulance van here."

"You're right. Stabilize Tom while I contact HQ." Solutus commanded.

"Got it, Sol." Albert said. He placed Tom on the ground, and reached over to grab a first aid kit in order to find some bandages. Solutus entered the van so he can give the word to HQ.

Tom could only tilt his head one direction as he tried to stay on his life before the pain gets even worse.

* * *

**A/N: Alrighty, that's done. This is the memory of Tom's first mission in the Special Forces group, along with his first encounter with Alfred. And yeah, it wasn't too good in the end. :/**

**But anyways, Imma head out now. Stay Fresh, and cya next time, guys! :)**


	6. Just Sanitization

**Heyo! Sorry for the delay, guys. I have been procrastinating lately, and I felt bad I wasn't able to get a chapter in. :/**

**To make up for it, Im gonna release another chapter tomorrow, just to get more reading in.**

**But here's the first one. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

***the next day...***

Tom ended up falling asleep after setting up camp at this flat part of the whole mountain. The sleep for him was rough, but it was certainly better than getting no sleep at all.

He leans up as he yawns, then he opens his eyes and realizes that he is still on his journey through this mountain.

"Huh... still quiet on this mountain. At least Jenny and Alfred lost track of me..." Tom mumbled to himself. That was the only good part about the whole chase he was managing to escape. But then something else got his attention.

His ears perked up as if he heard... what sounded like a quiet drip. Rain, possibly?

No, it can't be. The sky is clear and blue, so there was no way that rain could be coming any second now. It was... actually something else, and it was more worrisome.

Tom looked down at his hands, and... not only were his fingertips still black, but it looked like his body was starting to melt.

"Carp- no, no no no, no, no..." Tom whimpered as he frantically looked around upon seeing what was happening to him. Then he rushed over to the kit that Switch gave to him.

Once he got the kit, he opened it and reached into the supplies. He ended up finding some medical tourniquets that could possibly prevent the disease from spreading faster.

Wasting no time at all, Tom began to apply these supplies onto his melting arm. He needed to make sure there was no sign of melting points from the disease, and maybe also hide the black shade that his fingertips held.

_"Tom... are you feeling okay?" _Charlotte asked him.

"The disease is starting to get worse. I don't know if I can make it." Tom cried.

_"I would say turn back, but... like you said, it's already too late." _Charlotte sighed.

"I know. This is just getting more worse for me, considering how fast this disease is getting to me." Tom said.

_"Though, I'll give you my fullest support, Tom. You can do it. I believe in you." _Charlotte complimented.

"Thank you..." Tom mumbled. And then... it was as if he felt Charlotte temporarily disappearing on him, like she was leaving in real life.

About a couple minutes, Tom stops applying the bandages to himself once he knew it was time to stop. He didn't have much time. He had to get to the top, and fast, before Tom gets to the Terminal stage of the disease.

Tom sat down on a log, setting his ink tank and weapon beside him. He placed his hands on his lap as he gathered some thoughts in his head. He just couldn't get this out of his head since that day.

"I... I should've saved her," Tom said to himself, "Even if I managed to save myself from all of this... I didn't save her. We looked after each other after our parents were gone... yet our pain is still there, years later."

Tom began to think about the memory that happened with Charlotte recently. The way he screamed in fear as he saw Charlotte _dying _right in front of him. And how Jenny just mocked the two of them...

"The pain is too much. Now she's gone, too..." Tom continued as he lowered his head. Then he looked at his bandaged hands, not that the bandages matter, because the only thing in his mind was fear and regret.

"Charlotte... I... I'm..." Tom's voice broke as he continued. Tears trickled in his eyes as he thought more about Charlotte.

"I'm sorry..." Tom broke down quietly sobbing as soon as he was done with his speech to himself.

* * *

***meanwhile, in Inkopolis Square Park...***

A cool breeze can be felt through the empty, yet calm park. There were few people roaming around. Yet it looked like the perfect day to roam around this peaceful area.

A long, gray path can be seen, which was made of tiny stones. And soon, a large, black bicycle was roaming along that stoned path. The cycler was Mia, and she had a cyan helmet on her head as she rode her bicycle.

She just smiled as she looked around the park, but was also aware of where she was going so she doesn't accidentally steer off into the grass, where the cycling will be ruined unexpectedly.

As Mia continued to ride, she began to feel a rumbling sound coming from her pocket. Mia stopped her bicycle, then stepped off. She reached into her pocket, and puled out her squid phone.

She was surprised to see that Cap'n Cuttlefish was calling her. Mia accepted the call, and placed the phone near her right ear.

"Yes sir?" She said.

_"Agent 3, please report to Octo Canyon effective immediately! I have something very important to assign to both you and Agent 4!"_ Cuttlefish reminded.

"Okay, I'm just gonna put my bike back and get my gear. I'll be there as quickly as I can." Mia replied. Then she hung up after the statement was said. Mia sat back down on her bicycle, and rode it back to Inkopolis Square, where she can put it back.

* * *

***8 minutes later, scene change to Octo Canyon***

Gathered at Cuttlefish Cabin, it was Callie, Marie, Pearl, Marina, Cuttlefish, and Redd. Cuttlefish had his outfit back in the Deepsea Metro, and so did Off the Hook. Callie wore her casual outfit, and Marie yet again wore her kimono. And, of course, Redd had his Agent outfit on.

Soon, Mia emerged from the manhole wearing her Agent 3 gear.

"Phew... I'm here. Came as soon as you can." She said.

"Good. Listen here, Agents, because this is getting threatening," Cuttlefish warned, "There have been words that Octavio's best troops are residing at Mount Ikaiwa. I do not know why they're at that mountain of all places, but I have to guess what they're planning musn't be good."

"And we've heard one of those troopers is... Jenny, of all people." Marina groaned.

"Oh, great. That b**tard again..." Mia growls as she face palms.

"Unfortunately, yes. But we do have a little step ahead of this whole mountain experience." Pearl said with a smirk.

"For the mountain, right? Because I've heard rumors that it's very dangerous to climb." Redd stated.

"Correct!" Pearl chuckled, making a cool pose.

"We're going to be using our helicopter again. Pearl ushered me into using it. But... we have a minor inconvenience," Marina explained, "The heli can't get all the way to the top, so we were planning on letting Agent 3 and Agent 4 climb the mountain from a very high point, and get to the top there, while Pearlie, Callie, Marie and Cap'n Cuttlefish will act as support for the mission."

"But no need to get down, Agents! I got contact for some extra help!" Cuttlefish added.

"Hm? Who exactly?" Mia asked as she places her hands on her hips.

"Agent 3, I remember you telling me about this 'Special Forces' group when you met Tom. They're the ones I have contacted for assistance." Cuttlefish responded.

"Oh yeah! Yes, this'll be perfect!" Redd cheered.

"We're all in this together!" Callie added.

"You sure we won't be spotted?" Marie asked, tilting her head to one side in confusion.

"I doubt it. Many of those slimy Octarians won't find our helicopter if they're too busy roaming the mountain. As long as we take precautions, we should be fine." Cuttlefish said.

"So, we all in?" Pearl questioned while smirking. Redd and Mia smirked as well, ready to start their own part of the mission.

"Where's that helicopter?" Mia wondered as she crosses her arms.

* * *

***back at Mount Ikaiwa with Tom***

After eating a small pack of food in his kit, Tom continued his quest on climbing the mountain, not giving up at the slightest. He was even more stressed than usual as the disease just continued to get worse. His eyes turned more grayish, and the tip of his ponytail was fading to black.

And more parts of his body was descending into melting. It just wasn't good at all.

Finally, after about three minutes of that stressful climbing, Tom reached another part of the mountain. But this time... he saw some ink scattered around. And it wasn't by Jenny's troops, nor Alfred's OctoTeeth Army.

It was... sanitized ink.

"Erk... so sanitized Octarians are here, too. No wonder Switch mentioned Tartar's theorized return..." Tom mumbled. Then he began to hear the sound of ink being shot out of a shooting weapon.

And the sanitized ink was aimed for him!

Tom quickly grabbed his SCAR-L, and shot a straight path of his own ink color. Then he swam along the path in squid form to avoid the incoming shots.

When the shooting stopped, Tom emerged from the ink, turning back to his humanoid form. He looked back, and he saw a bunch of sanitized Octolings aiming at him.

"TARGET ACQUIRED." One of them said. And from the backlines, more Octarians came about. There was one Octocommander, one Octobomber, and a Twintacle Octotrooper. And all of them were sanitized.

"Step out of the way." Tom demanded, showing a ferocious look.

"SURRENDER NOW, OR FACE OUR WRATH." Another sanitized Octoling retorted back.

"Never!" Tom exclaimed.

"SEEK AND DESTROY." That same Octoling screeched. And so, all the sanitized Octarians began to attack Tom. But luckily, the purplish-blue Inkling was already ready to evade the attacks of these Octarians.

After a few more seconds of avoiding the fast attacks that were coming his way, Tom began to fight back. He decided to aim for the Octolings first, as they are the most experienced type of Octarians out of any others.

One of them got splatted, as they had a tough time getting out of Tom's shooting. But that just made the rest of the Octarians more angry.

The Octocommander finished charging up his attack, and then began shooting at Tom at an alarming speed, similar to a Splatling. Tom only took two hits before he trips, feeling the after-effect of the quick shooting.

Before Tom could grab his weapon, the Octobomber spat out a sanitized Splat Bomb, and chucked it right towards the ninth operative. Tom gasped quietly, and he tumbles backwards so he cannot get hit by the bomb.

Finally, Tom grabs his weapon again, but an Octoling sprints towards him, and grabs him roughly.

But that didn't turn out so well for the Octoling.

Because Tom kicked his captor right in the shins. The Octoling cried out in pain as she was forced to let go of operative. Using this time, Tom quickly splatted that Octoling. Two down, two more to go.

Speaking of which, the other two Octolings began to attack, and the Twintacle Octotrooper attacked from behind. But the Octocommander was very quick to start charging up his attack to splat Tom.

Unfortunately, for all those remaining Octarians, Tom did an epic dodge montage of all the shots coming his way, like in a Matrix style. Not a single droplet of sanitized ink even _touched _Tom.

And then Tom retaliated with his own ink. And the rest of the Octolings got splatted.

"Heh, nice try." Tom chuckled. But his job wasn't done yet. He still had to defeat the rest of the Octarians before getting to the top safely!

Tom saw that the Octocommander was still tired from his last attack, so Tom decided to attack that sanitized Octarian first.

But his thoughts were interrupted when the Twintacle Octotrooper began shooting at him. Tom only took a couple hits from the ink of the enemy before making his way towards the Octocommander.

The Octobomber even tried to splat Tom with its bomb. But it was useless, as Tom was already far ahead.

Tom quickly splatted the Octocommander as it stood still. The Octobomber gurgled angrily, and began to shoot another bomb.

Tom just smirks as his eyes glare at the incoming ink grenade.

"Reflected!" The ninth operatie shouted as he kicks the bomb with his foot, sending the bomb back towards its sender.

The Octobomber cried out as the bomb exploded, which only temporarily blinded him since the bomb exploded the same ink color as its sender. But that gave Tom the quickest opportunity.

And the purplish-blue Inkling splatted him.

Tom then looks at the Twintacle Octotrooper, who only stared in surprise. But then it screamed as it tried to flee.

Tom splatted the Twintacle before it can even get close to escaping. The operative starts panting as he looks at the puddles of sanitized ink that was scattered all around the part of the mountain.

"That was probably just the easy part, minus Alfred..." He mumbled. He shook off the thought almost immediately, and continued climbing the mountain.

_"Good job, Tom..."_ Charlotte said quietly. That didn't go unnoticed by Tom, however. He just nods as he felt the voice in his head.

"Thanks..." Was all Tom said before his mountain climbing continued.

* * *

**A/N: Aight, that's all for that. Yep, I'm finally, FINALLY using Off the Hook's helicopter for something else besides just Tartar! Hurray! :D**

**Anyway, like I said, I'm going to try my best to upload the next chapter one day after this, just to make up for the long absence I had. I deeply apologize for that, but I'll try to be more active. Life does get in the way, after all.**

**But that's what I have in store today. Stay Fresh guys, and I'll cya next time! ;)**


	7. Almost To The Top!

**Hi guys. Sorry I wasn't able to keep my word yesterday. But as mentioned, I made this chapter as soon as possible.**

**So, here's the well-flown action scene. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

***the next day...***

Tom continues his quest on climbing the mountain, each day passing being a little agonizing for the experienced squid. However, his climbing skills were getting a little worse than what he previously has been through.

The progression of the disease was high, as Tom was very close to stage 3. The melting of his body was starting to become more unbearable at this point. And his eye color was fading to gray. And it was more visible than earlier. Not to mention his tentacles were starting to become black, and his hands becoming more gooey as they turn to that deep black color.

"*cough cough* Ergh... h-how much longer?" Tom said to himself in a raspy voice. It has happened to him since he woke up the next day. As much as he didn't really want to set up camp each day on this large mountain, he had to since he needs the energy to rest. Overworking is never a good thing.

_"Tom..." _Charlotte said in a worried tone.

"I know, Charlotte. But I can't turn back. We've been through this." Tom exclaimed.

_"It's not that. I'm just... so sad to see you like this. It hurts me just as much as it hurts you..." _Charlotte admitted.

"I understand. But don't worry," Tom responded, "Once I get to the top... not only will I cure myself of the disease that Switch gave to me, but I will be able to bring you back to life."

_"Oh, Tom..." _Charlotte sighed.

"I must be almost there. The top is nearly at arm's reach." Tom said. And his climbing got faster, but he did stumble a bit as the disease was getting way worse.

But Tom ignored every inch of pain both outside, and inside of him. He didn't mind the disease's progression. He didn't mind almost getting splatted by Alfred again. He didn't mind outspeeding Jenny. And he didn't mind the sanitized Octarians attacking him.

Right now, the only thing Tom minded was being able to accomplish the mission by getting to the top.

***about an hour later***

Tom sat back down on a flat surface to take a rest again. But still, it was near the afternoon, so it wasn't really the time to sleep. But Tom needed to get some energy back, and he needed it _now._

Tom reaches into his kit, and pulls out a tiny food packet.

"This won't last me for a while, but I need to conserve as much as I can." He thought. So then he opens the packet, and begins munching on the contents inside of it.

_"Hey, uh... Tom," _Charlotte said, _"It may not feel that way, but... for some reason, I can feel you're getting way closer to the top. You... You're actually not far off!"_

"That's great news!" Tom chuckled while smiling, but then was interrupted by a violent cough. When the cough was over, Tom slightly opened his eyes. Then they shot wide open...

...when he saw that he spat out a small puddle of black ink.

"Oh cod. *small cough*, this disease is getting even more worse! I don't know how much longer until Terminal Stage..." Tom cried.

_"Switch said five days, right? It's the fourth. If you start moving on now, then you might get the needle before the Terminal Stage arrives." _Charlotte explained.

"Hm. You're right, Charlotte. I shall not waste any time! Right now, I have to go! For you, Charlotte!" Tom said with a determined tone as he stood up.

_"Tom..." _Charlotte responded quietly. She tried to find what words she would want to say next, but she just groaned and forgets about it.

Tom then places the empty packet back into his kit, then closes said kit. When that's done, he jogs over to the walls of the mountain. But then... he saw something else that suddenly caught his eye.

There was a curving path that was... going up. A path. A path! On a dangerous, tall mountain!

"Yes! That'll save me some time!" Tom cheered. And he begins to walk along the path, hoping to get to the top easier.

"Aha! There you are!" A woman's voice shouted. Tom flinched as soon as he heard that voice. He turned around, and he saw Jenny, who evilly smiled at him.

"Think you can be able to escape the infamous Inkling killer?" Jenny mocked. And then... an octopus lands on the ground, who was assumed to have been super jumping to Jenny's exact position.

The octopus emerges to humanoid form. It was Alfred.

"Make that two killers, Operative." He chuckled. Tom growls as he grabs hold of his weapon.

"Can you two explain to me your reason for guarding this mountain?" He demanded.

"Like I said, it's boss's orders. But Elite Captain Jenny turned out to be my partner, and I couldn't resist such an opportunity," Alfred explained, "So, as said by Octavio himself, we headed over to Mount Ikaiwa to stop inkoming Inkling travelers. Starting with you, Operative."

"Now... I guess we can make a little deal, squid," Jenny giggled, "We're going to start attacking you. If you give up and go home, I'll just cut off a little piece of your ear. But if not, I'm going STRAIGHT for your chest!"

"We'll try and stab you either way." Alfred added, placing his hands on his hips.

"I will never give in to such bloodlust, cold-hearted, insane, demonic monsters such as you two!" Tom screamed.

"Hee hee hee! I figured you wouldn't wanna give up. Just like Alfred told me. Isn't that right, boy?" Jenny chuckles, facing her male Octoling partner.

"Of course, Elite Captain." Alfred replied.

"Okay, squid. If you're really pale enough to ink yourself... then..." Jenny started. She pulled out her knife from her pocket. Then she holds her right hand out, and slits it, leaving a thin, but painful line of blood on her hand.

And more blood just continued to leak out.

"...things are about to get REAL messy." She finished, and then licks up some of the leaking blood. Then she puts her knife back in her pocket, and then...

Instead of the Octo Sword that Tom has seen before, instead, Jenny held an AK-47 in her hands, the same one that Alfred used. And Alfred still had that same gun with him.

_"What is it with these two and their love for drinking blood?" _Tom thought. But he then shook the thought off. He knew that he wouldn't be able to last long if he just stood there to take the incoming attacks from these two insane Octolings.

Tom let out a battle cry as he begins shooting from his SCAR-L. But both Jenny and Alfred dodge both opposite ways, without even a scratch.

"Your life ends right here where you stand, Inkling!" Jenny insanely laughed. Then black ink is shot from her given AK-47. Tom was knocked forward, as he wasn't prepared for how Jenny is so skilled with that gun.

But Jenny has just gotten it! How can she be skilled with something she just earned?

"Eh heh! Yes, it does end here! And like Jenny said before, it's going to get messy!" Alfred chuckled. And then he kicks Tom from the top of his head, forcing the ninth operative to stay laying down.

Alfred was already about to finish Tom off with some of the ink from his gun, but luckily, Tom kicks Alfred in the foot. Alfred only laughed, as the pain he was given just turns into pleasure, as that did nothing on him.

But that gave Tom an opening.

So he shoots from his SCAR-L, and Alfred gets knocked back. But it wasn't enough to splat him just yet.

Tom looks behind him, and he saw that Jenny was there, ready to shoot at him. She did so, but luckily, Tom turns into his squid form to swim in the puddle of his own ink color below him, as it was formed by pushing Alfred back.

Once Jenny stopped shooting to recharge for a bit, Tom attempted to shoot from his own weapon. Jenny kept on swimming in her own black puddle in octopus form, but Tom still kept aiming at her, in attempts to get some damage off of her.

But when Jenny emerged, she held her gun in one hand, and pulled out her Octo Sword in the other. And with that, she used it to block the last remaining shots that Tom tried to shoot.

"Why use two weapons?! You have close combat _and _long-ranged!" Tom complained.

"That's literally the point. I don't listen to others. We have bombs, too, and yet you don't whine about that." Jenny teased.

"Don't mock me after what you did to Charlotte, you demon!" Tom cried.

"Hee hee hee! How would a squid like YOU ever like such a disgrace like HER?!" Jenny yelled. Tom gasped at that statement, and that just made him get more furious just by what Jenny was saying to him.

So Tom tried to attack, but then an Auto Bomb, which walked right next to Tom, exploded next to him. Tom realized it at the last second, which was why he tried to dodge it. But the blast radius was still large, considering that Tom was still a little next to it.

Tom was knocked to one of the walls of the mountain. Then both Alfred and Jenny began to shoot at him. But Tom jumped and tumbled for his best attempt to escape the two Octoling maniacs.

"What's wrong, Operative? Can't seem to outrun TWO Octolings?!" Alfred mocked, a wide evil smile on his face. Tom didn't respond. Instead, he just glared at the two Octolings, who retaliated by just showing their trademarked evil smiles.

Tom attacked. But once again, Jenny and Alfred dodged the incoming shots. So then, the two tried to counter with their own weapons. But Tom was prepared, as he evaded them by hiding in his own ink.

"Eh heh, nothing new, Operative. Even after our tons of encounters together, you don't seem to learn a thing about me." Alfred said.

"And then again, it's gonna be more difficult for ya. Because now we're working together, and we're gonna make sure Inkopolis is gone!" Jenny laughed. Tom loudly growls at Jenny's sudden rebel.

"You two wouldn't do such a thing!" Tom shouted.

"Ohh, yes, we would. It'll be easier once the Agents are put out of the way." Jenny replied.

"But first, the two of us are gonna get rid of you first. We are two cold-blooded predators, and anything that we see... we know they're gonna be gone." Alfred scoffed, showing a wide evil smile. Then he turns back towards Jenny.

"You ready, Elite Captain?" Alfred asked. They were interrupted when Tom tried to run over and throw a physical punch towards at least one of them.

But Alfred took the opportunity to push the ninth operative back.

"Let's end this, boy." Jenny said to her Octoling partner.

_Ding!_

Alfred's and Jenny's hair began to glow. A special is ready!

"Oh no!" Tom yelped. But what the Alfred and Jenny had at their disposal kinda surprised the purplish-blue (temporarily black cuz Inkblot) Inkling.

The two Octolings pulled out what looked like Tenta Missiles. But the launchers were black, and they looked much more larger and spikier than what the original Tenta Missiles look like.

"Say hello to our little friends!" Alfred laughed.

"Upgraded Tenta Missiles! Where it'll be YOUR DEMISE!" Jenny added. And then she and Alfred aimed at Tom, and activated the missiles. There were dozens of more missiles than what Tenta Missiles usually shoots when aimed at only one person.

Tom attempted to outspeed the missiles. But since there were so many of them, most of those missiles managed to make him stumble. The fact that these specials were activated by _two _Octolings did NOT help!

Finally, the last two missiles made Tom trip. He screamed as he was knocked forward. And he was leaning towards the edge of a cliff!

He looked over to see that his gun was far away. He was forced to let it go because of the whole missile barrage.

Tom began to try and get up, but he screamed in pain once Jenny's smashes her foot on Tom's chest. And he violently coughs afterwards, with a couple tiny, black spots forming around his mouth.

"Alright, enough games. Time to go straight for the chest!" Jenny giggled. And she pulled out her ultimate edge knife, and raises it high in the air, ready to stab the ninth operative.

"Hmph. Not today." Tom grumbled. And before Jenny could stab him, Tom turned into his squid form to slip right under the insane Octoling.

Then Tom's hair began to glow. He weakly smiled as he glares at Jenny.

"My turn." Tom chuckled. Alfred growled as he attempted to splat Tom with his AK-47 before Tom can activate his Kraken.

But it was too late Tom already managed to form into his dangerous special. Jenny grabbed a hold of her AK-47, and began shooting at the Kraken. But in that form, Tom was invincible. None of the black ink was even hurting him.

It doesn't even tickle.

Alfred tried to fight back, as Jenny tried to fend off the Kraken herself by slashing it with her knife. But to no avail.

"Carp!" Jenny yelped.

_SPLAT!_

Before the special ended, Tom finally managed to splat Jenny. He angrily watches as her little octopus ghost goes into the air, soon forming into nothingness.

_"Hope you don't have a respawn pad, b**tard..."_ Tom thought. He turned around to see Alfred looking at him in fear. Then the male Octoling began to flee after seeing what Tom did to Jenny.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Tom shouted. He sprint over to grab his SCAR-L, and chased after Alfred. Luckily, Tom got a direct hit as he shot from his weapon, and Alfred yelped as he soon fell off the cliff.

But Tom still heard slight noises.

He walked over to the spot where he saw Alfred fall at, and... Tom saw Alfeed was still hanging onto the cliff.

"You... You _really _managed to prevail over me, Operative, eh? Even after all our encounters?!" Alfred complained.

"I'm going to make you pay for trying to kill me when we first met!" Tom yelled. And he aimed his SCAR-L at Alfred. But the black-haired male Octoling just evilly smiled at the Special Forces Inkling.

"That'll be the day." Alfred sighed. And then he lets go, falling off into the distance below. Tom only watched him fall until he was unseen.

Tom lets go of his weapon as he sits on the ground, panting. He coughs once, but continues panting.

"Finally... all done..." He sighed, finally being able to defeat those two Octolings.

_"Tom? You... You actually did it. G-Good job.." _Charlotte complimented.

"Thank you, Charlotte. But it can be a real thanks later," Tom replied, "Right now, I'm near the top. And I'm going to get that medicine to bring you back. Just you wait!"

Tom places his weapon back in a safe spot, and he continues venturing on the path of the mountain, almost to the top.

However... unwary to Tom...

Down below, Alfred can be seen barely hanging onto another flat surface of the mountain. Luckily, he does a front flip as he manages to get on top of that surface. Once he did, he pulled out a little walkie talkie.

"Lost 'em, Elite Captain Jenny. I think the Operative is lost now..." Alfred sighed.

_"Not today. Meet me back at base. I'll deal with the Operative. Trust me." _Jenny insisted.

"Of course." Alfred replied. Then he turned into his octopus form, and super jumps away, back to Cephalon HQ so he can meet up with Jenny again.

* * *

***the next day...***

Even after that little adventure on the path, it was still a lot for Tom to even try and get to the top. By now, his arms, legs, hands and feet were a gooey black color. And his melting was getting faster.

It seemed like Tom was getting close to Terminal stage...

But fortunately, Tom saw... he made it to the top! The peak of the mountain can be seen, and there was a wide cave below, with enough lights for anyone to see as they would adventure inside it.

"I made it! I actually made it!" Tom cheered. And he ran over to the cave, where he would hope to find the cure.

And there, sitting on a podium... there it was. Tom's smile got bigger as he saw it. A needle, with a tiny container below it that held blue ink.

"The cure is right there! This is mission accomplished!" Tom chuckled, feeling so happy that he made it. But now wasn't the time to cheer just yet. He needed to get that needle, cure himself of the Inkblot Disease, and then _finally _save Charlotte!

Tom ran over to grab the needle. But... a static sound can be heard echoing throughout the cave. Tom then knew... that he was not alone. And then, unknowingly to Tom, he began to hear a voice he thought was... familiar.

**"*bzrt* You REALLY thought it would be that easy?"**

* * *

**A/N: GAAAAAAAAASP, cliffhanger! He's finally baaaaaaack! :0**

**Boy, this is just going to get REAL better. And this time, guys, I am going to absolutely promise I'll have the next chapter in by Thursday or Friday. And I'll try not to make delays. Count on it. ;)**

**But that's all I got, guys! Stay Fresh, and I'll cya next time for more! :D**


	8. Mission Accomplished?

**Heyo! And, here we are, guys. The big moment for a villain who has returned for the fourth time! :p **

**Nothing much that I have to say here to be honest. But I just hope the action and other stuff put into this chapter is worth it. And I always aim to make it better as it progresses.**

**For now, I hope you enjoy this new chapter! :D**

* * *

Tom shuddered upon hearing who said that voice. He was nervous, but he knew it wasn't Alfred, nor Jenny. But he has heard a couple recordings of the voice he has heard right now. And it immediately bothered him.

The pacing sound of footsteps immediately filled the room. Soon, Tom turned to the right. And what he saw... made him so surprised, that he was almost _speechless_.

It was a male sanitized Octoling. Green skin, and blue hair. And the style was the regular mohawk style like most male Octolings have. The eyes were a very dark tel, but the pupils were more of a light blue. But the clothing was the regular Neo Octoling armor.

And this Octoling held an Octo Shot in his hands, but it was filled to the brim with the sanitized ink, like those other sanitized Octolings that Tom fought earlier before having to deal with Alfred and Jenny.

Tom glares at the sanitized Octoling, but shook a little bit because of how nervous he was.

"The deadline of the disease is making its way there. I need the needle now before the Terminal Stage gets to me." Tom exclaimed.

**"Oh, boy... you don't seem to understand who I am, do you?" **The Octoling asked.

"Your voice..." Tom pointed out. The Octoling evilly grins, and raises his arms up in the air, while his hands were in a "rock on" pose.

**"TARTAR IN DA HOUSE..." **He started. Then his smile turns into a frown as he lowers his arms, and clenches his fists. And he stomps his foot roughly.

**"...FOR THE FOURTH TIME SINCE MY TRIUMPH!" **He screamed. Tom was shocked. So Switch was right. Tartar _did _end up returning. But... how can this be possible?

"Tartar... y-you managed to come back?" Tom uttered.

**"I'll make this story as quick as I possibly can." **Tartar said, evilly grinning again.

"You better!" Tom shouted, and then coughs afterwards. It seems like Tom is getting way closer to the Terminal stage...

**"Ever since Applicant 10,008 caused the destruction of the NILS statue, I have drowned in the ocean below as I clung onto the remains of NILS. But... it wasn't over yet," **Tartar explained, **"Days after my obliteration, some god-like creature brought me back to life, and forced me to talk to the lifeforms in this... 'Octarian Army'. I was reluctant at first, but eventually, I gave in."**

"You... actually joined them?" Tom questioned.

**"Yes! But only briefly!" **Tartar shouted, **"And I even had a backup statue I codenamed 'GKY'. But Agent 3 and Agent 4 took that down as I tried to get back at 10,008! And the two Agents destroyed my primary form. Now I remain as the goo I have left in trying to create the perfect lifeform. But it's not all that!"**

"What is more about it?" Tom asked as he slowly grabs reach of his SCAR-L.

**"I snuck into Inkopolis Square one day, and after eavesdropping on tons of conversations, I found my next target," **Tartar continued, **"And that person was none other than Marie, one of the Squid Sisters, if I do recall. I only took control of Marie simply because I heard she's in love with Agent 4! How... PATRONIZING!"**

"Wow! The infamous Commander Tartar, taking control of one of the Squid Sisters!" Tom yelped.

**"And it was my best reign yet! But alas, it didn't last long," **Tartar sighed, **"Again, Agent 4 took me off Marie along with some of his friends. So I waited and waited for what is left of myself in the form of this goo. And I did. Now... this is my new Octarian form I have long-awaited for so long!"**

"You disgust me, Tartar! We at the Special Forces group have learned about what you did!" Tom exclaimed, now pointing his weapon at Tartar.

**"Oh, so it seems! You prevented any of my plans from being carried out!" **Tartar yelled.

"I don't need to know about what plans you have," Tom snapped, "Because it's obvious of all the crimes you've committed! You kidnapped Octarians against their own will, and grinded them up just so you can obtain something you know that you'll never achieve!"

Tartar was offended by that statement. He growls afterwards, not appreciating one word that Tom said.

**"I have roamed this world since the professor built me 12,000 years ago. You think you INKLINGS would have what it takes to challenge ME?!" **He screeched.

"I am here for the needle! Now, step out of my way, or I will take further action!" Tom commanded, placing his pointer finger on the trigger.

**"I don't think I made my rants clear enough. YOU are the creatures that are NOT worth living for on this planet! Your needless fighting obsessions mean NOTHING to me!" **Tartar yelled. But that was it. Tom had enough.

He presses the trigger, and a bunch of purplish-blue ink was shot out. Tartar simply turns into octopus form, and slips away from the attack.

When he emerges back into the humanoid form, his evil smile just grew wider.

**"You just don't learn, do you? Well then, I'll end your life right where you stand! *bzrt*" **Tartar shouted. He then aims his Octo Shot at Tom, and begins shooting almost immediately.

Fortunately, Tom was prepared. And he dodged out of the way, too. When he got at a good position, he continued to shoot back.

Tartar ended up taking the hits this time, as he didn't expect it. But it wasn't too much damage. He merely shrugged it off.

**"You are a good challenge. But I'll have you know you won't be able to get rid of me!" **He ranted, **"Cease to know what still remains of me! I still loom over Inkopolis, stuck in a drought just trying to find more of my ooze! My primordial creations are none of your concern, and you can talk about it when you get splatted under my power!" **

"We'll see." Tom scoffed. And he continued shooting, hoping to get a couple hits off of Tartar. But the AI was well-prepared this time. Instead of dodging like the last time, he decided to come up with another strategy in order to trick Tom.

Tartar turns into octopus form and super jumps. As he was landing, he didn't turn back into the humanoid form just yet. Instead, he sneakily landed on the ground, and slipped to a few large puddles of the sanitized ink that was leftover from the Octo Shot.

Tom aims at the puddle, waiting for Tartar to jump out at any moment.

_"I can't let this AI get to me. I've made it this far, and I won't give up!" _Tom thought. Just when Tom least expects it...

A tiny line of sanitized ink swirls its way to Tom's foot. Then the ink touched a part where it was nothing but black goop. The inflicted touch of the sanitized ink plus the black ink of the Inkblot Disease... cause a huge sensation.

"AH!" Tom winced in pain. Then Tartar jumped out from the puddle, and began shooting at Tom. Tom only cries in pain, as all those shots he took really hurt a lot.

Tom lays on his side, still recovering from the pain. Tartar simply smiles as he slowly approaches Tom.

**"You're quite the squid if you can't get splatted by a couple shots. But brings it to the point you can't do the same to me?" **Tartar questioned.

"Mid-Ink Knockout, or MIKO for short. But if it means getting through to you... I'll have to make an exception." Tom growled as he opens one eye.

**"HA! Thanks for telling your plan out loud! It _really _helps!" **Tartar shouted.

"Well... at least I'll give you a little of THIS!" Tom exclaimed, and then kicks Tartar in the stomach.

**"GRACK!" **The AI yelped as he was pushed back. Then he kneels on one knee, and shakes his head. Then he bares his teeth as he glares right at Tom.

**"Enough warming up! *Bzzzzzrt* Prepare to die within the hands of your new ruler!" **Tartar bellowed. And he lashed out at Tom, while Tom prepared to try and attack Tartar back.

Tom may not see it, but... he felt as if Charlotte was super concerned for him.

* * *

***meanwhile, in the sky near the mountain...***

A helicopter drops to one of the highest points of the mountain. Granted, it was only above halfway, only because the heli cannot go too high without malfunctioning and risking a crash on the dangerous mountain.

Inside the helicopter, there was Redd, Mia, Pearl, Marina, and Cuttlefish.

"Aye! We arrived at Ikaiwa!" Cuttlefish shouted as he points at the mountain.

"Alright! Man, we gotta bring Eight along for this next time! He'd love to join in!" Pearl cheered.

"Oh, don't worry, Pearlie! Eight is on one of the other helicopters that should be here shortly!" Marina insisted.

"Ahh, good thinkin', 'Rina!" Pearl chuckled.

"'Ey, let's get some words for Agent 3 and 4. Tell them we're landing and where to head at!" Cuttlefish told the Off the Hook idols.

"Got it!" Marina replied. Pearl activated the microphone that was built into the chopper, and begins to speak.

"Alright, listen up, yo! Redd and Mia, we're right above Mount Ikaiwa right now!" Pearl shouted, "The plan is to drop you two off here, and work your way to the top! And since you guys got your weapons, this should be a breeze for you! But watch out for surrounding Octarians! Ya got that?"

"Yes!" Redd and Mia said in unison.

"Good! Now, get out there and make us all proud!" Pearl cheered. And they heard the sound off footsteps walking quickly off the helicopter, followed by a whooshing sound.

They jumped off. This is the start of the Agents' part of the mission.

Mia and Redd were currently falling off the helicopter. They grab their respective Hero Shots, and aim it down below. They then shoot from their weapons so they can create a puddle of their ink color on the ground.

They turned into their squid form so they can fall faster, and then they land in their puddle, with a loud _bloop! _being heard.

"SEEK AND DESTROY." A sanitized Octoling exclaimed. Redd and Mia emerged from their puddles, and they saw a group of sanitized Octolings about to shoot them. Unlike with Tom, it was just purely Octolings.

"Ready to splat some Octoslobs, sis?" Redd asked.

"Ready whenever you are." Mia replied while smirking. Then they showed a serious look, and they lout out a battle cry as they attacking the Octoling group.

* * *

***back with Tom and Tartar, at the top***

Tom and Tartar have been battling for a couple minutes from now. Yet, none of them managed to get the upper hand over the other, no matter how hard the two tried. It just didn't work at all.

When Tom gets the advantage, he uses this time to put some ink in the whole dome. But Tartar was quick to retaliate back by pushing Tom down at almost every possible chance that he could.

And the whenever Tartar was at the advantage, he sat there and taunted Tom to how the operative will lose, and how Tartar will take over Inkopolis as soon as Tom was defeated.

But Tom was having none of it.

"I won't let you take Inkopolis, or any other place for that matter!" He shouted.

**"You can try, but you can only accept your fate as pawns before the new lifeforms made by my pre-made goop!" **Tartar retorted back. And he was quick to shooting back without any other word.

Tom did the same, hoping that his shots will get Tartar. But... that plan failed drastically, and it only seemed to get worse with what happened.

Tom trips as the Inkblot Disease was starting to get worse. And his violent coughs were heard echoing throughout the cave.

_"No, no, please not yet." _Tom thought, getting more nervous by the second. Seeing Tom weakened finally gave Tartar that opportunity to take him down once and for all.

Tom screamed in pain as every ink shot from Tartar's Octo Shot got onto Tom. And since it was so much, Tom was pushed back by a lot, to the point where his back was against the wall.

Tom groans in pain, and he saw his SCAR-L in the distance. He began to shuffle over in an attempt to get it.

But Tartar quickly pins Tom down before the operative can even get an INCH closer away from his original position that he was at.

**"What's wrong, huh? Are you sick? Good! Because this'll make your death REAL fast!" **Tartar mocked. Tom only growls as Tartar continues to mock him.

'No... get off of me..." Tom mumbled as he tries to get out of Tartar's grasp. But the AI only hows an angry frown as he only grips tighter. This left Tom for no choice but to stop struggling. But he couldn't die here!

**"I'm not the kind with asking for last words. Prepare to meet your demise!" **Tartar shouted. He aimed his Octo Shot at Tom's face. But just before Tartar can pull the trigger...

Tom slipped as he turns into squid form, then quickly turns back to humanoid form to kick the Octo Shot out of Tartar's hands. Tartar was surprised at Tom's sudden movement.

**"WHAT?!" **He yelped, and quickly ran over to get it. But Tom wasted no time in running over to get his own weapon.

Fortunately for Tom, he got his weapon faster than Tartar could get his. Years of training in the Special Forces army really paid off for Tom! And he got to use those skills against Tartar of all people!

Jenny included because of earlier, but Tom was relieved he knew he was gonna finish Tartar off.

Tom made sure MIKO was off, and then shoots Tartar with no hesitation.

**"ERRRGH!" **Was Tartar's last scream before he was splatted, turning into nothing except for a large, sanitized puddle.

Tom places his hand on his forehead, and his coughing seemed to get worse. His body was turning completely black, and his whole body was getting dangerously close to melting into a black ink puddle.

_"Tom... um..." _Charlotte's voice mumbled.

"I need to get the needle!" Tom yelped, knowing the sudden realization. He ran to the podium where the needle would be waiting.

But... when Tom got there...

...

The needle was gone.

"What?! W-Where did it go?!" Tom shouted, looking around everywhere for the needle. He saw it not a moment ago on that exact podium! How could such a thing disappear? It's to heal Tom's disease!

Suddenly, an insane giggle can be heard. Tom's gray pupils turned smaller as that giggle made him become uneasy. He turned around, and he saw... Jenny.

And what surprised Tom instantly was seeing that Jenny was holding the needle in her hands!

Tom was tempted to make a run for it and try to grab the needle. But that would risk in Jenny probably destroying the thing right in front of his eyes! He couldn't risk something so life-threatening!

"Hello there, boy." Jenny greeted, twirling the needle in her hands.

"Jenny! Y... You...!" Tom muttered.

"What? Did you REALLY think I'd be gone that easily?" Jenny mocked, "News flash, squid: I'm the ELITE CAPTAIN of my troops. And this was my whole goal in the first place. And seeing you struggle against your mental problems is nothing but music to my ears!"

Tom started shaking, like he was gonna break down at any moment.

"How's the pain treating you, huh? Getting worse, I see. What a shame, it just seems to get more fun for me." Jenny giggled.

"Jenny... p-please. Give me the needle," Tom pleaded, "I'll do anything you want, even if it involves murder or death. I don't care what it is, just please give me the needle so I can cure myself. Please..."

"If you didn't learn already, squid, this needle is what remains of Charlotte. And now that I got you here just for this moment... it's all fun to see you so desperate and sad!" Jenny replied, crazily laughing. And then, Jenny runs to the edge of the mountain, with Tom chasing after her.

But then Jenny throws the needle right out, allowing it to fall to the depths below. Tom got even more shocked at what he saw Jenny just do.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tom screamed as he placed his hands on his head. He falls to his knees. Jenny only shows an insane smile, amused at Tom's emotionally broken state.

"Sorry, squid, but it seems like you're gonna succumb to the results of the disease. Tell me how it goes when you're dead!" Jenny teased. Then she turns into her octopus form and super jumps away, leaving a frustrated and sad Tom by himself.

Just then, shortly after Jenny left, the sky turned dark. A couple seconds later, Switch forms up in the sky, looking down at Tom.

"You... failed the mission, Tom. Guess it's all over now, huh?" Switch asked. Tom looks up at the god, and put his hands up in the air.

"I-I surrender! I'm at your full mercy! I know I failed, I know it's all over!" He cried.

"..." Switch stayed silent at Tom's desperate screams.

"Just end my life! I failed, and there's no turning back! It's over now, and it's better off that I'm dead then roaming as a monster! Just kill me right now!" Tom begged, knowing that Switch would be doing that.

...

However, Switch just sighed, and then started spinning around.

"Anata wa watashi no hontō no ito o shirimasen..." The god said. Then he stops spinning, and raises one of the parts of his overall form.

_Click!_

Tom groans as he felt something inside of him. Tom looks down at himself, and...

He no longer had the Inkblot Disease! All the black goo went away, and his eyes turned back to its normal color.

"What? B-But... why?" Tom asked.

"Word to the wise, Tom: it's a plan B. I decided this would be much better than anything else." Switch replied. Tom sighed in relief, finally cured of the disease.

"Charlotte... I did it..." Tom mumbled. He waited for a response.

A few seconds pass, but there was no word from Charlotte.

"C-Charlotte? CHARLOTTE?! CHARLOTTE, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Tom screamed, realizing what happened. He looks up at Switch.

"Switch! Why can I not sense Charlotte's soul within me?!" Tom asked desperately.

"Sayonara." Switch simply replied, and then disappears into thin air, with the sky turning back to its normal color.

"NO! NO, WAIT, COME BACK!" Tom cried. But it was too late. Switch is gone.

Tom screamed loudly, pounding the ground with his fists. He screamed some more at the top of his lungs, knowing that he may have completed the battle... but he lost the overall war.

Soon, Tom broke down, crying. He hid his face in his hands as tears poured down his eyes.

"Tom!" A male voice shouted. Tom didn't bother to look who said that voice. But then, Redd and Mia walked over to him.

"Holy carp!" Mia yelped.

"Hey, hey..." Redd said calmly. He walked over to Tom's side, and kneels down to look at the purplish-blue Inkling.

"What's wrong?" Redd asked. Tom babbled nonsense, not finding the right words. But Redd just waits, giving Tom some time to respond correctly.

"I... I lost... my loved ones..." Tom cried. Mia then walked to the other side next to Tom.

"Oh... it's okay, Tom. It hurts..." Mia sighed.

"You're not the only one who lost people who love you." Redd added. Then he puts his arm around Tom's back hoping to give him more comfort. Mia did the same, making sure that Tom has as much comfort as he can.

"We should get out of here. It's dangerous at the top..." Mia insisted.

"Good idea. Let's get out of here." Redd responded. He and Mia helped Tom up, and together, they all left the top of the mountain.

_*few minutes later...*_

The three eventually arrive back at the bottom of the mountain. It was easier than getting up, especially because no Octarians were found.

As soon as they got to the bottom, Tom just got into a crying position again. He even mumbled the word "Charlotte" once in a while. Redd could only frown as he comforts Tom the best to his ability.

Mia also felt bad. Losing the ones you lose is always a tragic thing. Then... Mia felt her right ear twitching, as if she heard something.

"Hm?" Mia turned to the ocean in front of her. Though a little far in the distance she could see...

What looks like some kind of large, gray submarine.

Mia got worried as she bit her lower lip. She turned to Redd and Tom.

"Um, guys?" She said. Redd and Tom looked at her.

"Yeah?" Redd asked.

"Uh... y-you might wanna see this." Mia replied, pointing out into the distance.

* * *

**A/N: Aight, that's it for that chapter. Well, I guess you can say the second half of this story is gonna start on the next chapter. But I just keep going with those cliffhangers for this story, don't I? ;)**

**But that's all I got for today! Stay Fresh, and cya next time! :D**


	9. Memory 2

**Well, happy April Fools Day, everyone! Hopefully you're all being wary of the whole leaks and jokes going on around this world. Couldn't fall for anything myself. ;)**

**Anyways, don't worry. This chapter is real. It's NOT a joke, trust me. Here is... the second memory of Tom.**

**I hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

***scene: a hospital far away from Inkopolis***

Everyone have rushed out of the way of an incoming patient who was being quickly wheeled into an IR room. That patient was none other than Tom, who was extremely weakened after what happened at the Ikapurita Bank.

Getting stabbed multiple times was way too much for the poor operative to handle. In fact, NO ONE can handle being stabbed in the chest so many times, and not even become dead almost immediately.

A couple minutes later, the doctors set Tom down on the hospital bed. The squid was wearing nothing except for black shorts. He was hyperventilating and shaking violently.

The wound where Alfred had stabbed him was patched up. But the bad thing is that this wound will only be sealed for a short time before the blood would start leaking out again. And judging by the look on Tom's face, along with how the stitch looks...

It won't last long.

The three Inkling doctors surrounded Tom. Two of them were male: one with purple short hair, and the other with cerulean, slick, spiky hair. And the head doctor, a woman with teal-ish hair with a ponytail, stood back. They all had the proper attire, and masks covering their mouths.

"We managed to stabilize him just in time. But..." The purple-haired doctor mumbled. He and the blue-haired one turned towards the head doctor.

"The patient lost too much blood during the incident," The blue-haired doctor stated, "He's at lethal levels. He won't make it past the next three days..."

"Correction... make that overnight." The head doctor reminded. They all came closer to Tom, who had his eyes closed as the wound seemed close to opening.

"Carp," The blue haired Inkling grumbled, "If they managed to get him here earlier, we could have saved him. If there was any blood around here..."

"Relax. We need a donor urgently." The head doctor exclaimed. They all held Tom by his arms once his shaking got more faster. Tom couldn't really take it. The poor squid was close to _dying_.

Tom's first mission as an operative of the Special Forces Unit... it all ends with him being stabbed by an insane Octoling. Talk about a great start, and now he may never get to experience being a part of the group ever again.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside of the room Tom was in... there were Tom's best partners, Albert and Solutus, who were standing by the door to keep guard. Even though everyone was safe in this hospital, they are still highly aware if anyone were to break in and start attacking anyone who got in their way.

The two of them were anxious upon knowing what's happening to Tom, but they tried their hardest to stay calm.

"You think Operative 9 will be alright, Solutus?" Albert asked as he turns his head to him. The dark red-haired Inkling just sighed, and looks back at his green partner.

"I don't know, Operative 11. With the injuries, he could be unable to survive at this rate..." Solutus said.

"Well, he _will _survive. I'm sure of it." Albert replied with a determined look in his eyes. However, Solutus didn't think so, considering what he saw when he and Albert got back to Tom after the incident took place.

"Didn't you get a good look at Tom? He's in severe pain! He can't even hold onto it. He's been mortally wounded; _dying _as we speak!" Solutus exclaimed. Albert was taken aback after hearing Solutus's yell.

Albert was silent for a few moments after the outburst, but then he just sighs.

"Maybe you're right, Operative 6," He admitted, "Looking back now, he seems to be the unit's best Operative. Now he's suffering a fate... _far _worse."

"What about his adopted sister?" Solutus questioned. Albert just slightly shrugged his shoulders, looking across the hallway ahead of him.

"It's her choice now, Sol. Yet... we don't know what it is..." He answered. He kept staring off into the distance, and Solutus joined in on it just to make sure he will keep an eye out for any suspicious intruders.

Across the hallway... there was the waiting room. And sitting on one of the chairs was none other then Charlotte. She had a very sad look, her hands covering her face after she heard what just happened to Tom. She kept her blue short hair, and she had her casual clothing of a white shirt with a red logo in the middle, black shorts, white sneakers.

She closed her eyes and shook her head slowly, wanting to tell herself that this isn't happening. It's not real. It's just a dream. It'll all be over soon. Tom is fine. He's going to be okay, without any side effects.

...

But it _was _all real. This is happening right now. And Charlotte couldn't bear this mental pain any longer.

"Hey... you alright?" A masculine voice was heard. Charlotte removed her hands from her face, and she looked at who just talked to her.

This person had dark skin, with pink eyes, and gold short hair, but it was covered by a grayish beret. This man wore a green sweater, black shorts, and green-brownish army boots. He looked at Charlotte with a concerning, yet calm look.

"Who... are you?" Charlotte asked.

"I thought you might ask that question you gave to me," The man said with a quiet chuckle, "The name's David Matiasu. I'm the commanding officer of the Special Forces. Dave, for short."

"Huh, Dave? Such a good name for a CO..." Charlotte complimented.

"Anyways... you're Charlotte, aren't you?" Dave questioned. Charlotte got nervous upon hearing her name from this man that she just met, yet she tried to keep calm. She took a deep breath, and then answered.

"Y... Yes. I am." She said. Dave sighed, since he easily caught onto Charlotte's nervousness. Yet he showed a normal look when talking to her.

"It's okay. I know everyone feels nervous upon hearing their name," He confessed, "Anyway, uh... I know you're adopted to your foster family... as in the family Tom was in. Is that correct?"

Charlotte slightly looked down. All she could think about was Tom. Her adoptive brother that was currently on the brink of dying.

"Seems like it. And now I'm losing another... It's getting worse by the minute..." She said. Tears began to form in the Octoling's eyes, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. Dave's concerning look grew wider upon seeing Charlotte's tears.

"Whoa, settle down, Charlotte. We still have time left." Dave reassured. Charlotte sniffed as she rubs her eyes, then she looks at Dave again, while not letting her tears overwhelm her.

"I know," She said, "It's just... Tom was an unforgettable part of my past of my life, David. I don't want to see him pass away. I've... felt something within me. Something that I realized..."

"That you love him?" Dave assumed. Charlotte blushed upon hearing Dave's immediate guess, yet she kept her posture calm, not wanting to outburst so suddenly.

"Y... Yes. I love him, but... I don't know how I should explain it to him..." She admitted.

"It's difficult for you to explain it to him?" Dave repeated.

"I just... felt love back when I was adopted," Charlotte explained, "The first time I saw him, I hid away in a corner. Away from other kids... and I'm scared that I was gonna be picked on..."

She paused her sentence as the tears in her eyes streamed down to her cheeks, but she still kept her still position.

"But he's different from everyone else," She continued, "He knew the situation I was in that one day. He calmly waved at me, but I still felt scared. He approached me, like I felt he was going to tease me. I closed my eyes, and... me not realizing it, he... he hugged me..."

Dave nodded, interested in Charlotte's speech the whole time.

"Huh? So he was friendly to you back then?" He asked.

"Yeah, he was. He was the one who got me out of my shell, and into the light," Charlotte replied, "That hug I've felt... that was the first time we touched each other. I immediately felt love within me, as I felt a developing crush on him. Yet, he didn't notice it. His parents took a liking on me, as they observed the two of us, and they realized their ideal child they were going to get."

Charlotte stops for a moment to clear her throat, then continues.

"They adopted me to their own, and I've gotten close to Tom since that day," She said, "After my adopted parents were killed on the massacre a year later... we rebuilt from the ashes, and we both decided to live together.

"So, that's why the both of you lived all by yourselves?" Dave questioned.

"That's right." Charlotte replied. Both her and Dave were silent for a moment. Charlotte broke it by sighing again.

"Any word on Tom?" She asked. Dave was about to respond to tell Charlotte that there was nothing...

But then the door opens, where the head doctor approached them. Though concern was a bit on the lacking side of her facial expressions, she still felt it through her normal, serious look.

"Sir, we have a situation update on the patient." She said. Charlotte and Dave look at the doctor, ready to heard what the news is.

"Well, ears are clear. Tell me what's up." Dave insisted.

"The injuries the patient has is severely critical," The head doctor warned, "The patient lost a lethal amount of blood, yet we managed to stop the wound from continuing to bleed out. We do need a blood donor... but..."

She shook her head, knowing the harsh reality of the outcome.

"With the state the patient is in, we estimated that he won't survive without the blood transfer being performed," She sighed, "Also, his blood type is different, compared to others in-stock within this hospital, and we currently don't have the blood. We estimated with nearly zero errors that the patient won't survive overnight, unless there is a suitable blood to perform a transfer."

Charlotte put her hands over her mouth, even more saddened. And Dave had the same concern.

"Carp... you're right," He yelped, "Even if we can transfer him to a nearby hospital with blood bags in stock?"

"That's a negative on that," The head doctor responded, "We're far from the main hospitals, as well as Inkopolis. Transferring him over to one of those areas will take time, but it's risky for the patient. His wounds will reopen during transit. We hope now, a miracle will happen. But... there is none."

Charlotte placed her right hand on her lap, and raised her left hand up in the air.

"Let me be the donor." She insisted.

"You sure?" The head doctor asked.

"I'm scared for my adoptive brother's health. Let me be the one to try and save his life." Charlotte pleaded.

"You know the risk you will be taking... right, Charlotte?" Dave warned.

"Yes, I know all about it." Charlotte said while nodding.

"Alright, better get you to write down on this clipboard right here." The head doctor said as she gives Charlotte a clipboard, which held a paper and a pen. Charlotte tales the clipboard in her hands, and writes her full name down on the dotted line at the bottom of the paper.

Once she was done, she gives the doctor the clipboard back.

"That's great, Charlotte. Now you may follow me to the medical room. David will come along with us." She explained.

"Alright, come on. You have your brother to save." Dave said as he puts his hand on Charlotte's shoulder. The blue-haired Octoling nodded, and the three walked over to the medical room so they can begin the blood transfer for Tom.

_"This is for you, Tom. I will save you..." _Charlotte thought.

Albert and Solutus watched Charlotte, Dave, and the head doctor walk over to the medical room. They didn't get out of their positions, but they did keep an eye on the three.

"I hope Charlotte is making the right decision now." Solutus said.

"Seems like she did. Given the time, I hope she will be the right donor for Tom." Albert added.

* * *

***35 minutes later...***

Back in the waiting room, after the transfer of Charlotte's blood happened. Charlotte was leaning by Dave, exhausted. Dave kept the short-haired Octoling close by, making sure that she doesn't fall.

Solutus had a suspicious thought that he could've sworn he heard Charlotte talking to Tom's boss.

"I hope he'll be alright..." Charlotte mumbled.

"Don't worry. Let the medical team do their work." Dave replied.

And back over to the entrance of the room Tom is in, the head doctor was there, wheeling over an IV tank of Charlotte's donated blood. Just like her ink color. it was blue. But there were some kind of... weird particles that made it seem odd.

"What is it, doc?" Solutus questioned.

"It seems like the patient's sister has the right blood type," The doctor responded, "Though, the blood is colored blue, and has little traces of Octarian DNA... but it does have the same similar structure to the patient's blood."

"Hm... I hope so. Go on in. Save our friend." Solutus said. The head doctor nods, and she goes inside the room with the tank of blood. When the door closes, Solutus and Albert stay close by the door again.

"I hope he'll be okay, given the donated blood." Albert stated worriedly.

"Let's hope he will make it, after all." Solutus added.

* * *

***14 hours later...***

Since the blood was being transitioned into Tom. The Inkling was fast asleep, and... it felt like he was feeling a lot better. Charlotte looked at his sleeping adoptive sibling, smiling upon knowing that he'll be alright.

Though... it seems like Tom's ponytail is turning the same color as Charlotte's ink color.

* * *

**A/N: Aight, and that's all. Yep, that's the whole story of how Tom managed to barely survive by having blood donated to him! And also the origin of Tom's purplish-blue hair color! :D**

**Also, yeah. I have two Davids now. But I'm gonna refer Tom's boss as "Dave" just to avoid confusion, if at all. :p**

**But that's all for the memory! Stay Fresh, and I'll cya next time for the next real chapter! ;)**


	10. ALTIS

**Hello. Nice to see you guys again! Today, I have the next REAL chapter of Squidbeak Singularity! The small mystery of the submarine is about to be revealed in this story. ;)**

**So anyways, I hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

"What is it, Mia?" Redd asked as he stood up. Tom also joined right beside the twins. Mia looks at them, and points towards the ocean, very worried.

"Over there." She said. Tom and Redd follow Mia's finger to where she was pointing at. And soon, they were left with wide eyes and their mouths agape. They saw the submarine, and they were almost speechless.

"What is THAT?" Redd yelped.

"It looks like some kind of... ancient submarine. But what is something like that doing here?" Tom asked.

"I dunno, but this submarine is getting me worried. Like, a LOT." Mia exclaimed.

"What are we going to do about it though?" Redd questioned. Mia was about to respond to her brother's question, but she was shortly interrupted by a rumbling sound coming from her pocket.

She pulled her squid phone out, and noticed that Cap'n Cuttlefish was calling her. The third Agent accepted the call, but placed it on speaker mode.

_"Ahoy, Agent 3! Do you read me?" _Cuttlefish yelled.

"Loud and clear. We just got back from the mountain," Mia explained, "Redd, Tom and I are at the bottom, near the ocean. And, uh... we're seeing what looks like a submarine just has just risen up from the ocean. I have no idea what it's doing here, but I don't like it."

_"Aye, that's exactly what I was going to warn you about!" _Cuttlefish said. Then, she, Redd and Tom began to hear helicopter whirring noises. And the breeze also picked up a lot, that Mia's hair started flowing around like a ribbon.

The three looked up, and they saw a horde of helicopters coming near them. They didn't go down yet, however. Mia squinted her eyes to see who exactly was on the helicopter.

Mia expected Cuttlefish up there, but she saw another man with darker skin, pink eyes, and short golden hair. And he was wearing an outfit that is similar to what Tom was currently wearing.

The third Agent told Tom and Redd to get ready to get onto the helicopter once it lowers.

* * *

***once they got on the helicopter...***

They stand around as the helicopter starts flying to where the submarine was located.

Mia, Redd and Tom sat down on a comfortable spot, hoping to get news about this submarine they all saw.

"Hey." A voice said. The group of three look forward, and they saw Caleb, along with Callie and Marie. Off the Hook were also there. They were all wearing their Agent outfits. And, well, Off the Hook had their casual outfits.

"Oh, hey Caleb." Mia greeted.

"We didn't expect anything else to even happen!" Pearl complained.

"But this journey isn't over. Looking at what happened, we seem to have another threat nearby." Marina warned.

"We've gotten news on the submarine. What in the world is even going on down there?" Callie asked.

"I don't know, but it must be some new sorta threat that we may or may not be ready for." Marie said.

"I know exactly what is happening." The dark skinned man mumbled. Everyone turned towards him.

"Excuse me, but... who are you?" Redd questioned.

"That's my boss, Redd. David Matiasu, the leader of the Special Forces Unit." Tom answered.

"Ah, okay. My sincerest apologies, sir, if I accidentally said that in a rude tone." Redd said.

"None taken." Dave chuckled. But then he got serious again as he immediately remembers the topic on-hand.

"Okay, listen up," He commanded, "The submarine is a codenamed protocol: A.L.T.I.S. It seems that Tartar is planning to unleash a nuclear-styled cannon to destroy Inkopolis. But it's also aimed for other strategic locations that we do not know."

"T-Tartar's back?!" Caleb cried. Everyone else could tell he was scared. But he wasn't... the only one.

Redd looked over and saw Marie with her eyes a little wider than usual. It seems this may trigger the return of her PTSD, one thing from Marie to no one wanted to see again.

Of course, the Agents were determined to stop the sub in time.

"We're going to coordinate an attack on the submarine," Cuttlefish explained, "So, whoever is brave enough, we're going to have to attack the sub, and enter inside it in order to power down the cannon."

"Huh? We have to go inside the sub?" Mia asked.

"Unfortunately, yes, Agent 3. It'll be impossible to cover the whole submarine in ink. Especially because it's floating above water right now." Cuttlefish sighed.

"And we only have four minutes before the destruction happens as the cannon unleashes." Dave added.

"I got it!" Tom exclaimed as he raised his hand, "If we're going to stop the submarine, I wanna go out there, but also join up with Agent 3, Agent 4 and Agent 8. We'll all team up so we can not only destroy the sub, but also get through it faster as a team."

"Eyy, I actually like that idea!" Redd complimented.

"Though, I don't know if we'll be able to make it out in time." Mia stated.

"I'm sure we'll find a way." Tom assured.

"I hope so..." Caleb sighed.

"Okay, Agents! The boarding party will start now, so listen up!" Cuttlefish shouted, "There is a small entrance in the sub that can only be entered. You will take that small entrance, and find whatever sort of power the sub is using! When you find it, destroy it! But be wary of your surroundings!"

"Yes sir!" Tom and the three main Agents said with a salute.

"Good luck out there!" Pearl said.

"Be careful." Marina added.

"We'll find a way to get you guys out as soon as you destroy the core, or whatever they're using!" Callie reminded.

"Well, whatever it is, I bet it'll be huge." Marie said.

"Okay, Agents! Move out!" Dave cheered, looking over at the distance, most notably towards the submarine. Redd, Mia, Caleb and Tom got into position, and then they super jumped over to a specific spot on the submarine.

It took about 5 seconds because of the large amount of descending from the helicopter to the submarine. Luckily, everyone managed to get on top of the sub without falling into the ocean below.

Caleb did stumble a bit, but luckily, Mia was there to help the Octoling Agent maintain his balance.

"Alright, we made it on." Mia said.

"Let's hurry up and stop the cannon before it's too late." Redd suggested.

"Yes, and quick. We only have four minutes." Tom added. He and the three main Agents found a small spot on top of the submarine where they can enter. They all looked at their surroundings to make sure that no one was following them.

And they all entered the hole one by one. Tom went down first, followed by Redd, then Mia, and Caleb went last.

_SLAM!_

The lid they just entered through has closed on its own. Tom reach up to the lid, and tried to open it. But unfortunately, he couldn't be able to open it.

"We're locked in. There's no turning back now." The ninth operative warned.

"Dang it! Now we're trapped down here!" Caleb complained.

"Not exactly. I'm sure Cap'n Cuttlefish and Mr. Matiasu will be able to get an exit for us." Mia insisted.

"Yeah, I agree. Now let's hurry and find the power core and stop the cannon." Redd said. The other three looked at Redd and nodded. And they walked quickly, because they were on a time limit, but only walked simply because they don't wanna risk any damages with running.

They all stayed quiet so they don't get the risk of letting others know that someone is invading the submarine. But then again, they only heard that the sub was piloted by Tartar. But how?

"I thought Tartar was already gone. How did he come back again?" Caleb asked.

"He must've found some sort of way." Redd responded.

"Not to mention that this AI is stubborn. He just never learns to give up..." Mia groaned.

"You guys had experience with Tartar, right?" Tom asked, "I'm curious because I've only heard about him numerous times during my job as an operative. What are your guys' thoughts?"

"Well, he once took control of me, but that was only for about five minutes. I still hate him for what he tried to do." Mia said.

"He was the one who tried to kill me back in the Deepsea Metro! I defeated him once, and when he came back again, I almost could've died, if not for Pearl, Marina, Redd and Mia coming in to save the day." Caleb explained.

"And he also came back a third time, taking control of Marie. And... the maniac also caused her to get PTSD..." Redd grumbled, still angry at the thought of what Tartar tried to do every time he appeared.

"Marie got PTSD? Wow, he must be very threatening!" Tom cried.

"Yes, and he's definitely not to be trifled with. Hopefully, we'll power through this sub and destroy the thing before Tartar obliterates our home." Redd said as he and the gang continued walking.

"Oh, but while we're still here, Tom... what do you think of the Special Forces? You know, the group you're in?" Mia asked.

"Well, I definitely needed all the strength and help I could get," Tom explained, "I worked for them for a couple years, and yet all the people in the group still consider me to be the best operative they've ever had."

"You're one special squid." Redd complimented, showing a toothy smile.

"Thanks, Redd." Tom replied, smiling back.

"I think you should become an Agent! Just like us!" Caleb giggled.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm fine with just working with the Special Forces." Tom stated.

"Well, there's always- OH MY COD! Guys, look!" Mia screeched, stopping in her tracks almost immediately upon her outburst.

"What is it, Mia?" Redd asked.

"Look, I see something glowing up ahead." Mia replied, pointing to it. Redd, Caleb and Tom looked over to what Mia was pointing at. As the third Agent revealed, there is indeed something glowing up ahead.

It was a yellow glow, but with a hint of orange, and... of course, the soapy teal. The four were disgusted, as they knew Tartar was behind this the minute that they saw the teal.

The four walked over to it, and they noticed it was some orange sphere, with tons of energy being built inside it. There were six large, gray plugs on the sphere, three on each side. And there were teal outlines going inside it. And it was being surrounded by a yellow cube, which is some kind of forcefield.

"How are we supposed to destroy the core? It's surrounded by a forcefield." Mia asked. Everyone looked around, hoping to find something to get access to the core.

Suddenly, Tom looked down as he saw another connection.

"Hey, look. I see more plugs down here." The purplish-blue Inkling pointed out. And he took the quick opportunity to pull the plug from the socket.

The teal outlines from the six plugs went away, and the forcefield also dissipated. Little shocks can be seen on the exterior of the sphere. And the submarine can be heard with its loud horn.

"I... I think we did it." Caleb uttered, as he realized it. Everyone showed surprised faces, and they slowly grow into smiles.

"SHELL YEAH!" Mia screeched, raising her fist in the air.

"Booyah! We destroyed the core!" Redd cheered.

"And with two minutes to spare!" Tom added.

"Now, let's get outta here." Mia suggested while smirking. Everyone nodded, and they began to run out of the submarine.

**"BZZZRRRT! You Agents ALWAYS want to ruin everything!" **Tartar's voice was heard. The group of four stopped in their tracks upon hearing Tartar's yell. They grab hold of their weapons, and looked around, wondering where Tartar is.

Then, a large, holographic screen appeared right in front of them. It was Tartar, and... he was in his phone form.

"You again!" Caleb yelled.

**"Stand down, Applicant 10,008! Every time I get another plan up and ready, you and some friends always come by to stop me!" **Tartar complained.

"That's right, you dumb AI." Mia scoffed.

**"First you destroy NILS, then GKY, then my own phone form, and you even tried to stop me from brainwashing someone! You're really wanting to get rid of me, huh?" **Tartar exclaimed.

"No one wants you to take over the large city we live at, Tartar." Redd said angrily.

**"Oh, but I _will! _But since you all are here... let me tell you a little plan I had in mind." **Tartar said.

"We're... listening." Tom growled, venom in his tone.

**"The submarine you all stand at now, A.L.T.I.S., is another backup I had in my arsenal since NILS's destruction," **Tartar explained, **"In it held a secret cannon with enough power to get rid of Inkopolis, and the other cities surrounding it. But, of course, you guys had to stop that."**

"So, what's gonna happen now, Tartar?" Tom teased.

"You afraid we're going to rub it in even more?" Mia joined in, winking one eye and sticking her tongue out in a mocking manner. Caleb chuckled at that, and Redd pointed his Hero Shot at the holograph.

**"No, you filthy inkheads! *bzrt* The submarine is now going to sink! But if I'm going to leave A.L.T.I.S., then I'm taking you with me!" **Tartar shouted. The holograph went away, and loud footsteps can be heard.

About ten sanitized Octolings ran to the group of four as the ground started rumbling.

**"YOU AGENTS WILL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN!" **Tartar screamed, as the rumbling got faster.

"Mia, take the left! I'll join in with you! Caleb, you and Tom get the right! And once of us give communication for an exit!" Redd commanded.

"Alright!" The other three yelled.

"I'll call my boss and Cuttlefish!" Tom insisted. And they all began to fight the Octolings.

A couple minutes have passed by, and it looks like the sub was getting close to sinking faster than usual. A couple of the Octolings were splatted, but there was just so many, it's hard to comprehend what little there is to even get out of there without major injuries.

Tom pulled out his walkie talkie, and held the button in a panic.

"Sir, we're being surrounded by sanitized Octolings! We need to get out, now!" He cried.

_"Of course, Tom! We were suggesting Pearl to use her Princess Cannon to break a hole in, but she's reluctant to do it again." _Dave explained.

"Tell her she needs to do it, as it's an order when it's given." Tom said.

_"Understood, Operative 9. We will get you and your comrades out of there in no time!" _Dave responded.

* * *

***back up at the helicopter...***

"Pearl! We need you to use the Princess Cannon, the order has been given by Operative 9!" Dave demanded.

"Why though? I already damaged my voice many times I used that thing! I can't bother doing it again!" Pearl shouted.

"Please, Pearlie. They're gonna die down there! We need to give them an exit!" Marina said politely. Pearl felt softened at Marina's tone, as she was never really the one to just shout angrily unless she was in that furious mood.

"Ugh, fine. But you guys owe me." The short idol groaned. She walked to the edge of the helicopter.

_Ding!_

Her hair glows as she pulls out the Princess Cannon. Then she aims it at a good spot on the submarine.

"You guys might wanna stand back! It's going to get loud!" Pearl suggested.

"Got it!" The Squid Sisters said in unison. Cuttlefish and Dave nod as they also stood back. Marina did as well, as she didn't want to get her own eardrums bursted.

Pearl inhales deeply, and then...

"BOO-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" She let out a loud screech as the Cannon let out its sound-filled energy that was aimed for the spot that the cannon was aiming for.

_BANG!_

The impact of the cannon ended up puncturing a huge hole on top of the submarine.

Cuttlefish was in awe as he saw the submarine getting more damaged by the minute. He stumbled a bit as he grabbed his own walkie talkie.

"Agent 3! Tell the others to go up to the top! There's a hole up there, it will lead you out!" He commanded.

* * *

***on the submarine...***

The sixth Octoling has been splatted, but the remaining five were starting to get the upper hand over the group of four.

Mia felt the rumbling from her pocket, then she pulled it out to find her smartphone. It was Cuttlefish again. Agent 3 accepts the call, but puts the phone near her ear this time.

_"Agent 3! Tell the others to go up to the top! There's a hole up there, it will lead you out!"_ Cuttlefish commanded.

"Yes sir!" Mia replied, then puts the phone back in her pocket. She turns towards the others.

"Redd! Caleb! Tom! Super jump to the top! I see a hole up there, and it'll get us out of here!" Mia exclaimed. She and Tom, Redd and Caleb turn into their squid/octopus form, and super jump to the hole.

Luckily, they managed to get up to the top of the sub again, just like last time.

The large helicopter can be seen pulling a little closer to them, but still high up into the air as usual. However, the Agents and operative knew that, so they prepared a super jump once again, high as they can in order to reach the helicopter.

Fortunately for the group of four, the helicopter flew a little towards them so they can land more easier. Caleb was a little uneasy unlike how he did it during his first battle with Tartar, but he got used to it since he was back on now.

Everyone looked down in surprise, while Cuttlefish was the most awe-inspired. The submarine let out a loud creaking sound as it breaks in half, and it slowly sank under the waves, never being seen again.

Once the submarine was out of sight, everyone cheered.

"Mission accomplished, everyone!" Cuttlefish yelled excitedly, waving his cane up in the air.

"We did it, guys! We destroyed Tartar's submarine, and saved Inkopolis once again!" Redd cheered.

"Whoo!" Mia said. Caleb laughed along. The Squid Sisters and the Off the Hook idols did their own cheering. And Tom just looked out into the distance.

Dave and Cuttlefish walked near Tom, very proud of him.

"Bucko, I gotta congratulate ye on that one," Cuttlefish complimented, "Not only did you destroy that stupid phone's gazillionth plan, but you led the Agents to safety as well. And we're all at our debt for you on that."

"We are very proud of you, Tom. You saved multiple lives thanks to your teamwork with the Agents." Dave added.

"Aw, it was nothing." Tom said bashfully.

"I have your eternal gratitude that I have something to announce," Dave replied, "As reward for your help in the destruction of A.L.T.I.S., I am giving you the big opportunity to become a new Agent of the New Squidbeak Splatoon."

"Wait. M-Me?" Tom asked.

"Yes indeed! Even I suggest it! We really need you on the team!" Cuttlefish suggested. Tom thought about this for a moment. Then he smiled and looked at the two.

"I accept it." Tom said. Dave and Cuttlefish looked at each other and nodded.

"Then congratulations Tom! I hereby announce you... officially Agent 12 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon!" Cuttlefish cheered. Tom's smile grew wider. He just got accepted into a new group.

He did think about sharing the happiness with Charlotte, but he realized that she's no longer within him. So that might not be all good.

...

...

...

Suddenly, an alarm blaring sound can be heard as the helicopter was malfunctioning. Everyone gone from happy and cheerful to worried and concerned when the helicopter took its path.

"Ah! What is going on with this heli?!" Dave shouted.

**"YOU'LL FIND OUT. BZZZZZZZZZRT!" **Tartar's voice is heard once again. The helicopter skyrocketed downwards, causing everyone to scream.

"Mayday, mayday! Everyone brace yourselves!" Marina cried. Everyone could only shut their eyes as they plummeted downwards, hoping they will survive the upcoming crash.

* * *

**A/N: Yep, the manyth cliffhanger for this story! Again! Man, I just love leaving off at cliffhangers, huh? :p**

**But yep, the story is almost done. Just one more major battle, and epilogue, and I can keep going on sharing some good stuff, even though this story had good stuff, too. ;)**

**But I hope you liked it! Stay Fresh, everyone, and I'll cya next time! :D**


	11. Mini Chapter

**Alright, so this is a mini chapter I got. But it will lead up to something big. Then, it's just gonna get better. ;)**

**But here it is. Enjoy! :D**

* * *

There was an island down below from where the helicopter was heading. Of course, this isn't the main destination, as the helicopter has been hijacked immediately from an unknown circumstance.

Everyone kept close, ready to brace the fall. But they were bouncing all over the place, and at a fast speed, too. This dive bomb was too much for the group.

_CRASH!_

The helicopter crashed right onto the center of the island. It was severely damaged. But... there was no trace of anyone after the crash. What could've happened?

Did they... die? Did they get injured? So why are they not near the helicopter at this time? This is one mystery that seems unsolvable...

...

Tom wakes up, noticing that he was on the island. He looks around, and he saw... that no one else was there. No one. It was just himself. He felt no pain, but couldn't find anyone, nor a plume of smoke, nor a damaged helicopter.

"Huh? W... Where am I?" Tom asked, groaning a bit as he stood up.

He seemed confused. He was just with the others a moment ago when they were prepping for the crash. But he saw that no one else was around. Tom was the only one standing on the island. Alone.

The ninth operative began to walk, almost limping because of the crash. When suddenly, everything turned black. Well, only the sky. The ground stayed the same.

The grass stretched for miles on end. It looked almost endless. But there's gotta be something for Tom to look into! SOMETHING!

Tom then felt his right ear twitch, as if he heard something... or some_one._

"Hm? Hey, w-who's there?" He exclaimed. Tom looked in front of him, and...

He saw... another Inkling. Though, this Inkling... looked just like Tom! Or so scarily similar to him! The person had their back turned, but Tom himself was surprised by who he was seeing right now.

Tom then felt like he fell to the ground. He tried to get up, but couldn't. So he looked down, and saw no binds there there to hold him down.

Strange. So how could he not get up? Was he that weakened?

The mysterious figure moves in place a bit, though he still kept his back turned.

"It seems it's the first time we met, Mr. Howzit." The figure said. Tom was shocked upon hearing his last name, by this guy he JUST MET, for goodness sake!

"Wha-?! Who are you? H-How do you know my name?!" Tom yelled. The figure holds his hand up, and raised an index finger, threatening for Tom to keep quiet.

"Best for you to know me, Tom," The figure replied, "Or rather... the future variant you may never experience, until later in your life."

The figure turned around, and Tom got even more surprised. This man looked just like Tom. Like, by every inch of his body. But the only noticeable difference from this future variant is that there's an eyepatch on his right eye. Though... this future variant's tone is a little deeper, but is almost exactly like Tom's.

"What... happened to you?" Tom asked. Tom's future self pointed at the eyepatch, and turned his face more towards the right.

"Or maybe you have to say something else. Your next line is: 'What happened to your face?'" He said.

"What happened to your face?!" Tom shouted. The future Tom just silently chuckled.

"That's the line I said some decades back." He responded. Tom shows a confused, yet nervous look upon meeting his... future self.

"Regardless, you're looking at yourself, my present self." Future Tom pointed out. Tom placed his hands on his head, as this was blowing his mind.

"Wha-? H-How is this even possible?" He exclaimed. Future Tom shrugs, as if he actually knew about this.

"Who knew," He said as he clears his throat, "Anyway, I know you're wondering... 'Are you a future version of myself?' Well, I was. Yet, you are still alive."

"Uh... okay. But... is there anything you DO want to tell me about?" Tom questioned.

"Just to tell you that you will never give up on life, Tom. Charlotte loves you... and she'll always be with you." Future Tom responded. Tom felt his heart chatter upon hearing that name.

The girl he saw get killed right in front of his own eyes...

"Charlotte..." Tom mumbled, looking down slightly. He knew that he only accepted this mission to bring her back.

"I know," Future Tom sighed, "Sorry to hit you in the feels. Yet, you have to keep going, Tom. The fight isn't over yet."

Tom thought about that for a few seconds. Then he looks back at his future counterpart, and shows a determined look.

"...You're right," He said, "I must continue. There's still more to this mission that I must complete."

Future Tom shows a small smile, and he pumps his fist.

"That's the spirit, Tom! Do it for Charlotte. Trust me, she is still with you, regardless." He cheered.

"Yeah, I- wait." Tom started, but then got shocked again as he realized something. He placed his hands on his chest, knowing it's empty inside.

And no, it's not hunger...

"But... I can't feel her within me anymore. I even tried to ask Switch that, but yet, he ignored me." Tom confessed.

"I know. Yet, do it for her." Future Tom commanded.

"Y... Yes. Do it... for her..." Tom repeated. Future Tom nods, then clasps his hands together.

"Of course. It's best you return to the present." He replied. He claps his hands, and a bright flash could be seen.

* * *

"GAHHH!" Tom jolted up with a scream. He started panting as he looks around. And he realizes... that he's inside the helicopter. It was severely damaged, and, like he expected, no one else was around.

Tom quickly grabbed hold of his SCAR-L, and ran out the heli, hoping to find someone else that is out in the island.

After a couple minutes of walking, Tom found no one. But then... he shuddered once again once he heard a bone-chilling voice.

**"You really felt for that crash, didn't ya?" **

* * *

**A/N: WHOOOOOOOOO! Yep, another cliffhanger. You know, that's now basically what this story has come to, apparently. Maybe I should've just called this fanfic "Cliffhanger: The Story". :p**

**Anyways, I'm gonna try and get an action-filled chapter in by tomorrow or the day after so you guys aren't left with disappointment. After all, my writing career is far from finished.**

**But yeah, I hope you liked this mini chapter! Stay Fresh, and cya next time! :D**


	12. Mecha Battle Part I

**Hey guys! Shortly, I have returned! Back today to bring you the awaited action in this chapter right here! Boy, is it gonna be great! There may be some things you may not even expect! ;)**

**Apologies for me not keeping my word, but I had to get this done on the weekend. Hopefully the wait was worth it.**

**But why keep you here waiting for what I'm gonna say when I can just bring you straight to the chapter? It's best if we start now, after all! I want you guys to be surprised when you see what happens. :p**

**I hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

"GAHHH!" Tom jolted up with a scream. He started panting as he looks around. And he realizes... that he's inside the helicopter. It was severely damaged, and, like he expected, no one else was around.

Tom quickly grabbed hold of his SCAR-L, and ran out the heli, hoping to find someone else that is out in the island.

As he was walking along, he suddenly heard a radio transmission. So, Tom grabbed his walkie talkie and answered the incoming call.

"Hello?" Tom said.

_"Ahoy! Tom, that you? Can ye hear me?" _Cuttlefish's voice was heard.

"Yes, I can hear you just fine. I just woke up after the crash." Tom replied.

"Okay," Cuttlefish said, "I can notice that everyone else is missing. Fortunately, Callie, Marie, Pearl, Marina, and Dave are all huddled up where I'm at. But I got no glimpse of Agents 3, 4 and 8. Are they with you?"

"No, sir." Tom responded, shaking his head. Tom looked around, and then...

He noticed that there was a teal ink trail leading to somewhere. He has no idea where, but it must end somewhere.

"Oh, Mr. Cuttlefish, I found a teal ink trail that leads to somewhere." Tom reminded.

_"Aye, good job, lad! Follow that trail. That might be where the other Agents are!" _Cuttlefish exclaimed.

"Copy that." Tom said. And he immediately starts following the line of teal ink.

After a couple minutes of walking, Tom ended up in an opening in the whole island. There he saw Mia, Redd and Caleb, all unconscious. But their ink color... was no longer their normal color.

Instead, it was teal.

**"You really felt for that crash, didn't ya?"**

Tom shuddered upon hearing that bone-chilling voice. He then started to hear what sounded like mechanical whirring, and... some sort of jet sound?

And then, Tartar appeared in front of Tom. Though this time, Tartar's appearance was like he was some kind of anime-styled mecha robot. His head resembles his old phone form, but the rest of the mecha... it was large and gray, entirely made of metal.

The arms and legs, along with the fists and boots, looked way more powerful than any other kind of robot combined.

"Haven't you had enough already?" Tom groaned.

**"Believe me, I'm far from finished!" **Tartar shouted, **"You may have destroyed my temporary Octoling form, but you most know that I have been in this world since ancient times! And... as you may well imagine, I outnumber you, Tom."**

Tartar then gestures to the unconscious Agents. But... they weren't close to waking up just yet.

_"Dang it! That phone is back? Is that what I'm hearing?" _Cuttlefish's voice was heard through Tom's device."

"Yes. And it looks like he isn't going down without a fight..." Tom replied.

_"Aye, that's the spirit!" _Cuttlefish cheered, _"And I heard he has the three Agents? Well, it's worse than the last time Agent 3 was corrupted. This time, Agent 8 and Agent 4 are out of control as well. You're gonna have to take them down quickly, Tom!"_

Tom growls as he points his weapon at Tartar.

"I won't let you cause any more destruction!" Tom yelled.

**"BZZZZZZZZZRT! HAVE AT YOU!"** Tartar screeched. The boots then eject some sort of flame, similar to what a high-powered jet would have. He hovered in the air a tiny bit, and then flew towards Tom.

Luckily, Tom was quickly aware of a sudden attack that Tartar would pull on the ninth operative. So he moved out of the way. Tartar only passed by, but then turns around, clenching the mecha fists.

**"BZZZRT! Don't ever think about trying to dodge my attacks! With this new mecha, no one can stop me!" **He ranted. He then extends his right arm out, and then a bunch of missile launchers appeared on the middle of his right arm.

When that happened, a bunch of teal ink missiles were shot out of it at fast speed. Tom was shocked, but he had a feeling he would be able to get through this, as he dealt with specially-modified Tenta Missiles from Jenny before.

As the missiles came closer, Tom was more aware. He tried to outrun ever attack by putting ink on the ground from his own weapon, the proceeded to try and swim in that ink in squid form.

As Tom tried to shoot the huge mecha with his SCAR-L, the ink didn't do anything. It just slid off of him.

**"Are you trying to weaken me with ink?" **Tartar exclaimed, **"Wow, you really don't get it, do you? News flash, Tom- BZRT! This mecha is made entirely of steel. No ink is gonna make me weakened anytime soon."**

"Then I'll have to try everything else I have in mind." Tom said.

**"HA! You may try, but there's nothing you can do!" **Tartar replied. Then he raises his hands in the air, and a sanitized version of a rifle that can shoot ink formed in the palms of his hands.

Tartar tries to shoot Tom with said rifle, but unfortunately for Tartar, Tom was escaping all the incoming attacks like no big deal. Even with his current mental state of everything that has been going on with him, Tom is still one of the best of the whole Special Forces.

As Tom was running, he noticed a solar panel that was on the back of the mecha.

_"Tartar must be using sunlight for this. The boss told me that's how NILS was fully functional..." _Tom thought. So he shot at the solar panel.

_CLATTER!_

The panel fell off.

**"ERK!" **Tartar yelped as he stumbled a bit. But... the mecha didn't power down. It wasn't even close. This was not what Tom had in mind. Then again, he knew that the fight wouldn't be over so soon.

"You're still fighting..." Tom mumbled.

**"And now it's time for you to get a little payback!" **Tartar yelled. He steps on the ground, and the front of the mecha opened up, revealing nothing but a black abyss.

Then, eight sanitized Octolings ran out of the front, and immediately started aiming at Tom.

"TARGET ACQUIRED." One of them said.

**"Attack the Operative!" **Tartar commanded, pointing at Tom. Then he hovered over again, and only stepped back to let the Octolings do the work. It took almost no time for all eight Octolings to start attacking Tom.

"SEEK AND DESTROY." All of them said in unison. Tom wasn't going to let down against these sanitized Octolings, however. After all, Tom has dealt with them during his quest on Mount Ikaiwa.

Tom wasted no time in shooting the Octolings. But since Octolings are considered the most strongest and smartest out of any kind of Octarians, there was no doubt that these sanitized Octolings that Tom was facing weren't going to go down without a fight.

But fighting is what Tom is always used to. For the years he worked for the Special Forces, he was no stranger to combat. Whether it's fist or ink, Tom is always ready.

And just like that, Tom let out a loud battle cry as he continued shooting from his weapon to splat the Octolings. In a few seconds, half of them were splatted. This caused the remaining four to get surprised.

Out of nowhere, they each brought out a special weapon. One had Tenta Missiles, the second had a Bubble Blower, third one had a Sting Ray, and the last one had a Splat Bomb launcher.

"Oh carp!" Tom yelped. So, the Octoling with the Tenta Missiles aimed the missiles at Tom, and they were heading right towards him, and the one with the Bomb Launcher started as well to distract Tom and make him slip up.

Tom was running to the left, trying to avoid everything, ignoring all the ink explosions. Then, bubbles came in front of him, and the Octoling with the Sting Ray aimed at the bubbles to make them pop.

And when they did as Tom ran away again, the explosion was so big, it knocked Tom forward. While the operative was still down, this gave the Octolings a chance to fight back and finish Tom once and for all.

But nope. Tom wasn't having it.

Even though his SCAR-L was a few feet away from him, he grabbed it quickly, and splatted the remaining Octolings, which left them surprised before they could even react to fight back.

Tartar looked back at that, and he was furious. Out of all emotions, anger is easy to tell when it comes to Tartar.

**"I WILL END YOU RIGHT WHERE YOU STAND!" **Tartar screeched. He hovered over Tom, and prepared to stomp on him.

"Not today." Tom commented. He then aimed his gun at the front of the mecha, which was still open. When ink got in the front, a few electrical sparks was formed. Then...

The body of the mecha turned orange, as if it was on fire.

**"AH! No, the mecha is overheating!" **Tartar cried as he flew back, interrupting the stomp he was shortly planning.

"Well, it seems like you had a secret coding program inside there of all places." Tom said with a smirk. Tartar turned back towards the unconscious Agents. And... he noticed something.

Tartar made a few glitching noises before floating away.

**"Bye!" **He snapped, then immediately made his run for it. Tom was about to chase after Tartar, but then the purplish-blue Inkling stopped when he heard the sound of a weapon loading.

Tom turned over, and he saw Mia, Redd and Caleb have woken up. But they were under control. Their ink color has turned teal, and there was some weird paste on their right ears. And their eyes also turned teal. They each had their signature weapons pointed at Tom.

"Oh no! Tartar really did control them!" Tom cried. Then the brainwashed Agents started shooting, which caused Tom to yelp, and quickly move out of the way.

As Tom was running, he looked back at the Agents, and tried to shoot back with his own ink weapon. But, Mia dodge rolled easily like no big deal, Redd super jumped, but Caleb merely took those couple hits that got on him.

Though, it's obvious that none of the Agents were down.

_"Egad! The Agents are controlled by Tartar?! I've seen what happened with Three before... but this is madness with all three of them!" _Cuttlefish yelled from another side, which Tom could hear because of the device he still had with him.

"Mr. Cuttlefish, there is a teal paste on all the Agents! That must be the mind control device!" Tom exclaimed.

_"Okay, lad, listen up!"_ Cuttlefish demanded, _"I don't advocate that kinda thing as much as I used to, but I've seen what Agent 8 did to free Agent 3 before! You have no choice but to fight them! But don't just immediately splat them! Aim for that teal paste on their heads!" _

"Yes sir." Tom responded. And once that was over, he continued fighting the Agents in weapon combat. But just like Tom himself, the three Agents were very experienced with fighting, so Tom knew that this was no easy task.

Plus, he can't even splat them. He has to aim for the mind-control device, but that would be risky all on its own.

Mia, Redd and Caleb manage to corner Tom to a wall of rocks after 3 minutes of that brutal battle. There was ink all over the place, but no one was slowing down or getting hurt by any incoming shots.

Tom only growls as the mind-controlled Agents aimed their weapons at Tom, ready to end him. However, Tom just smirked as he realized something.

"You guys are going free." He chuckled.

_Ding!_

Tom's hair began to glow. However, the Agents were unfazed, and they were about to attack at any moment now. Everyone waited for about five seconds.

.

.

.

.

And then the Agents shot all at the same time. When that happened, Tom activated his Kraken special, and slowly slipped behind the Agents, who only tried to escape, since they somehow have knowledge to know about the perks of a Kraken.

Tom aimed for Caleb first. He raised one tentacle up, and knocked the teal paste off of his head. This caused Caleb to quietly groan, and close his eyes. And he just stood there like a log, almost blank on what happened.

Tom went for Redd next, and did the same thing like with Caleb. However, Redd blocked it with his Hero Shot. That was bad for Redd, though, because his only weapon got knocked away from the sheer strength of the tentacle.

Shortly afterwards, Tom slaps the teal paste off of Redd's head with the second tentacle. Then Redd closed his eyes as he groans.

Finally, Mia was the only one left. Tom knew that this would be tough, considering that Mia uses the Kraken as her special on every mission she goes to, even though that special weapon is banned now.

Mia held her fists up and tried to fight back. But it was no use. Tom wrestled Mia back, and eventually gently strangled the third Agent in his grasp, but Tom was careful to not accidentally hurt her with the strangle.

Finally, Tom aimed his Kraken mantle at the teal paste on Mia's head, and it came off immediately. Mia groaned as she closes her eyes and lays on the floor. And just in time, Tom's Kraken deactivates.

Tom waited a few seconds before turning back to look at all three Agents. They were unconscious, laying down on the ground, and only a few feet apart. Tom shows a small smile once he noticed that the Agents' normal ink color was coming back.

"That sure wasn't too bad. At least they're all safe now." Tom said to himself. Then he began to hear that mechanical whirring sound again. Tom turned around, and he saw Tartar and his mecha back to normal again. The front was closed, but the solar panel was still gone.

**"Okay, I admit that was a flaw," **Tartar confessed, **"BZRT! It's hard to control three people at once, and given the reaction time you have, it really put some lag into my mind-control devices. So I can tell you really don't like to see them that way."**

"That's why you failed that part then, Tartar. You can't just control three people against their will just for your selfish desires." Tom scoffed.

**"I know that! But you _know _how greedy I am to obtain my lifelong goal that I have waited for so long!" **Tartar shouted.

"Urrgh... of course you still look into that..." Tom mumbled.

**"I'm tired of talking! I am going to end your life once and for all! You'll cease to exist, you pathetic squid!" **Tartar yelled. And then he started to fight Tom with his newly-healed mecha.

As always, Tom dodged the first attack. But the bad news is... Tom doesn't know how to stop the mecha. Ink just slides off of the giant machine. And the solar panel that Tom has recently gotten rid of isn't the power source.

Tom did think that the power source was inside the front of the mecha like before, but now the front is closed, and there was no way Tartar was thinking about opening it back up again after what the AI had to go through the last time.

So Tartar just stuck with brute force. Close combat. He tried to crush Tom at every possible chance he could get his mechanical fists on. But Tom didn't allow that, and he only dodges every single one of Tartar's incoming attacks.

Fist after fist after fist. Tom was successfully managing to outmaneuver every incoming swing Tartar tried to make. This was even to the point where Tartar was getting more and more furious by all the attacks that he was missing.

Tom is too fast! All that training he went through in the Special Forces has really paid off for him!

But the ninth operative was growing a little tired after all that avoiding he is doing. While he's still doing a good job, Tom was showing how slower he was starting to get as he continued to avoid getting hit.

But like anything else, the streak of avoiding the giant mechanical fists didn't last too long.

_CRASH!_

"Ah!" Tom yelped as one of the fists came at a speed faster than usual. It knocked Tom to the rock wall he was cornered at before, and groaned in pain upon the knockback and damage he felt afterwards.

Tom slightly opened his eyes as he tried to get up.

But then Tartar grabs Tom again, and pushes him to the wall. Tom screamed, as it felt really painful to him. The purplish-blue Inkling only grits his teeth and slightly opens one of his eyes to look at his opponent.

And Tartar was not happy at all. He was absolutely furious.

**"You do put up a good fight, I'll give you that," **Tartar admitted, **"But of course, we all know that the ancient technology the professor made in me back then... it's always going to prevail against such pitiful lifeforms such as yourself. And starting today, I am going to rebuild this whole city."**

"N... No..." Tom groaned.

**"I would do last words, but I wasted enough time. Farewell, Tom. Farewell to you, your friends, and that worthless cesspool of a city you call home." **Tartar exclaimed. And he prepared to crush Tom dramatically. Tom only closed his eyes, ready for this to end.

The fist began to make its way down onto the operative.

"Hey! Put him down!" Redd shouted. Tartar stopped the crush, and turned around. Tom opened his eyes, and...

He saw that Redd, Mia and Caleb were okay! They glared at Tartar as they all had their weapons pointed at the genocidal AI.

"Put the operative down, Tartar, or so help us, we will kick your metal a** all the way back down to the Deepsea Metro!" Mia commanded. Caleb shook a bit, as he didn't want to wait any longer in splatting Tartar.

**"Never! I will not bow down to you foolish beings!" **Tartar yelled.

"Then you leave us no choice!" Redd retorted back. He, Caleb and Mia then charged at Tartar, and shot from their weapons, with Caleb letting out a battle cry before he started.

Tartar lets go of Tom, who only lays on the ground, a bit weakened. And the AI took his aim at the Agents, as he was desperate to kill them. But the three Agents were so fast and strong, it was impossible for Tartar to comprehend.

Mia landed a karate kick on Tartar's left leg. This caused an electrical spark to form on that leg. When Redd and Caleb shot ink on the weakened leg, it only caused more sparks to form.

**"ARRRGH! No, no! This can't be happening! You Agents ALWAYS foil my plans!" **Tartar cried.

"You won't take away Inkopolis, Tartar!" Caleb screeched. While the Agents were still fighting against Tartar, Tom managed to stand up, despite all the pain that Tartar has given to him.

"Heh... let me join in." Tom chuckled. He grabbed hold of his SCAR-L, and shot ink at the mecha's right leg. And like before, Mia landed a karate kick right on it.

"B*tch! Never mess with a girl who knows karate!" Mia teased as she stepped back. Then the group of four huddled up as Tartar screamed from the stumbling.

**"NO! No, I will not allow this again!" **Tartar screamed. But... it was already too late. The mecha looked like it was breaking apart, but not completely.

But the front of the mecha seems to have opened up!

"Oh! Guys, aim at the front! Make sure the ink gets inside!" Tom commanded. The three Agents joined up with Tom to shoot ink inside the front of the mecha.

There was so much ink inside, that finally, the mecha looked like it was powering down.

**"I SHALL RECCUUUUURRRR!" **Tartar screeched.

_BOOM!_

The mecha exploded, leaving the remaining pieces scattered about, and only a cloud of smoke formed. The group of four close their eyes as they looked away, trying to ignore the smoke.

Finally, when the smoke disappears, the Agents and Tom looked in front of them to see a tiny holographic image of Tartar laying on the ground. And the AI... vibrates a little as tiny groans could be heard.

The four walked towards Tartar, ready to deal with the final blow.

* * *

**A/N: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cliffhanger! Yeah, this is definitely cliffhanger heaven for y'all, isn't it? :p**

**But anyways, that was the first part with most of the action finally done. Next up, you're gonna find out what happens to Tartar. And maybe wonder... if he will ever come back again? Hmm...**

**Only time will tell! Stay Fresh, everyone, and I'll cya next time! :D**


	13. Mecha Battle Part II

**Alright, guys, this is it. Time for this mission to end, and to show Tartar's fourth defeat in my story series. ;) **

**Anyways, here is the chapter! I hope you enjoy! :D **

**P.S.: I hate Macs. I want a Windows, so then I can also stream better when I get a capture card. ;-;**

* * *

Tartar brung his head up as he watches the Agents and Tom slowly approach him. Tartar's mech was down, so there was no way he could get that back up and running again before the Agents deal the final blow.

"You lost the battle now, Tartar. You killed many lives, and now we are here to end it." Tom exclaimed.

**"Yes, it must be so. I surrender to you now, Agents." **Tartar confessed. Everyone was taken aback by what Tartar just said.

Tartar? Surrendering to the Agents? After a long battle! Tartar isn't the kind to easily admit giving in to his opponents! Surely this is too good to be true!

"What are you saying?" Caleb asked.

**"Well, as I mentioned, I give in to you, Agents," **Tartar sighed, **"Enough is enough. Perhaps maybe this is for the best. I just wished for something good to happen to the remains of Earth after the severe flooding the happened millennia ago."**

"You mean... when the humans were still alive?" Redd questioned, still keeping his weapon in his hands.

**"The professor created me for the sole purpose of spreading human knowledge to the next dominant species," **Tartar explained, **"And yet, here we are... where we were battling it out for a few times now, and always ends in nothing good in the end. So with that, I pledge me allegiance to you, Agents. However, there is a request that I must ask upon you."**

"What?" Mia scoffed.

**"I want to live along your species. And prepare my original intention so then you Inklings and Octolings can find out the secrets of the humans you have been longing for,"** Tartar continued, **"In order for that, I would need to be reprogrammed in order to serve you guys. I just want to give you species another chance. *bzrt* So let's put down our weapons, and think about this."**

The three Agents and Tom were at ease as they thought about Tartar's current speech.

"He's tricking us... I just know it..." Mia mumbled.

"He said we were obsessed with clothing and needless wars..." Caleb added, but his voice was also quiet so no one else can hear.

"Still, none of us can forgive that phone for what he has just done." Redd said quietly.

While the Agents were discussing the topic, Tom looked at Tartar, in which the AI looked back at him.

**"I pity you, Tom. Though, all of us deserve second chances... wouldn't you agree?" **Tartar requested.

"Well... what about all the things you theorized? From what I've heard in the Special Forces?" Tom asked.

**"That can be arranged. So, Tom *bzrt*... it's now or never. My wish is just to serve for the next generation of Earth." **Tartar responded.

"Well, if you insist." Tom said. The Agents came back and went near Tom.

**"BZZZRT! Great! All I need you to do is press a button behind me. That's all you have to do," **Tartar explained, **"What that happens, the reprogramming will occur as I get sent to a place that would be most suitable for the entire Inkling and Octoling race."**

"Of course." Tom said with a nod. He reaches behind Tartar, and finds the button that the AI was talking about. Once it was found, Tom pressed the button. A few seconds passed by since the press, and...

An escape pod forms around Tartar, with his face only being visible through a small glass window.

**"Thank you all. BZRT! YOU'RE GONNA NEED IT." **Tartar said evilly. Then the escape pod launches up into the air, leaving behind a plume of white smoke on the ground.

"Tom... why did you trust him?" Mia asked.

"I mean, he did say human knowledge. And now that he knows what we're capable of, it's quite likely nothing bad would happen." Tom replied.

"Er, I don't know. I have a bad feeling about this..." Redd winced, showing an uncomfortable look.

"But... Tartar did escape. Maybe it could be possible? But I don't know." Caleb reminded.

"Well, I guess you're-" Tom started, but then...

_BANG!_

Another escape pod appeared on the ground. And then the door burst open. The group of four show a shocked look as they see this mysterious being.

It looked like a sanitized Octoling. Hair similar to Caleb, but teal. Teal eyes, white skin, a teal paste on the right ear, and it also had black gloves and an outfit similar to what Mia's Agent 3 gear is. Except this being is holding an Octo Shot in his hands. Oh, and there was also a gask mask around this being's mouth.

**"IT'S TIME... FOR THIS TO END!" **Tartar's voice was heard as the being talked. It was then that Tom realized.

"Oh my cod. We... We _have _been tricked. And it seemed so easy to recognize..." Tom groaned.

"Don't sweat it, Tom. We can do this. It's not like this is a new threat we haven't done before." Redd assured.

"But... this is Tartar in the form of a sanitized Octoling." Tom pointed out.

"Psh, so? All of us fought sanitized Octolings before, let alone regular ones! Trust me, Tartar ain't gonna make a difference." Mia chuckled.

**"Excuse me?!" **Tartar yelped, offended by Mia's threat.

"Sorry, Tartar, but there is nothing more that you can do. We have already won this battle!" Caleb shouted.

**"Oh, you say that, 10,008... but do you KNOW who you fools are messing with right now?!" **Tartar exclaimed.

"Yes. We are dealing with a robotic FREAK who tried to take people away by their own will just so you can obtain your own vision of the world." Mia threatened.

"After everything you've done Tartar... to Caleb, to Mia, to Tom, to Marie, and to me as well... we won't sit back and let you do what you want to do." Redd said in a serious tone.

**"How do you guys keep talking and not feel the future vision of what Inkopolis shall be deemed?" **Tartar yelled.

"Because Inkopolis isn't made for people like you," Mia explained, "Inkopolis is for people who want to enjoy life to the best they can. Every day, we have fun, and the fact you want to take that away from us in the most brutal way possible... it baffles all of us, and we can't accept it. Step aside, b*tch."

**"NEVER!" **Tartar screeched.

"Of course you'd say that..." Caleb sighed.

"Then I guess we gotta splat you." Mia teased.

"You ready, Tom?" Redd asked Tom. The purplish-blue Operative looked back at Redd, then responds by nodding while showing a smile.

"Agents, move out!" Tom screamed. And everyone charged towards Tartar.

**"I WILL TAKE INKOPOLIS ALL ON MY OWN! MARK MY WORD!" **Tartar bellowed, and then starts shooting from his own weapon as he also charges at them. But... the four were already prepared to dodge Tartar's incoming shots.

When they dodged, they tried to counter back with their own ink. But since Tartar was an experienced AI himself, he evaded all the incoming shots, despite it being from four different people, all at different speeds.

But the Agents and Tom weren't about to give up! Especially not here!

The whole island was like a huge playground now. There was many ink everywhere. Everywhere there seemed to be deal, there was another ink color to immediately erase. Red, followed by yellow, along with pink and a violet blue.

And every Agent had a lot of room to operate, thanks to the amount of large ink puddles that were scattered across almost every inch of the island. But Tartar wasn't having it.

Tartar even tried to make room for some of his own ink so this can be easier for him. But every time, it was wiped away by any ink color by one of the four Agents that the AI was battling against.

**"Argh! How?! BZZZZZZZRT! How are you fools this fast?!" **Tartar complained.

"This is our Turf you're trying to claim, Tartar! Catch us if you can!" Redd teased. Then he turns into his squid form and starts swimming around in the large red ink puddles that he left behind.

Tartar tried to go after Redd, but then was blown away when a pink Splat Bomb explodes right near him. Tartar cries out as he was knocked over to the left.

**"Grr..." **Tartar growled as he immediately recovers from the attack. And when he got up, he was met with an angry Caleb.

"I defeated you before, Tartar! It's going to happen again now that I'm with my friends!" The eighth Agent yelled as he continued shooting. Tartar shielded his eyes as he tries to push back the ink shots.

**"You're not taking me down for that THAT easily, Number 10,008!" **Tartar shouted. And then he shot at Caleb. But luckily, Caleb dove into his pink ink puddle, and swam away from every single one of Tartar's ink shots.

**"NO! Stop swimming in your ink! This unethical process leaves you all COWARDS!" **Tartar cried.

"Cowards, huh? Last time I remember, you tried to fight us back with two statues, and took Marie against her own will." Mia scoffed as she sneakily approaches Tartar from behind.

**"What does that have to do with anything?!" **Tartar exclaimed.

"The fact that you choose to use others instead of battle yourself... really has gotten me off my square." Mia replied. She kicked Tartar on the back of the head, in which he screamed in pain. And once that was done, Mia swam in her own ink puddle.

**"AAAAGH! COME BACK HERE, YOU UNHOLY, SLIPPERY INKHEADS!" **Tartar demanded as she tried to shoot at Mia. But it was far too late anyway, as Mia was too fast when under her own ink color.

Tartar ran onto the puddles, hoping to find even a trace of the Agents. He didn't care how much he was being slowed down. All he really wanted is to end the Agents once and for all.

Tartar spent two minutes on all four puddles. But the four were sneaky in making sure to stay still, and only move very slowly if Tartar's foot was close. And because it managed to be successful for the Agents...

Tartar growls furiously. It seemed he didn't like this at all.

**"WHERE ARE YOU?!" **He bellowed, glaring daggers at the puddles. There was nothing but silence. The Agents sure were tricky people.

Three Splat Bombs were lobbed shortly. One red, one yellow, and the other pink. Tartar backed up and yelped as he back up, only taking a tiny bit of the explosion radius for just that tiny speck of ink to be on him.

"Now! While he's down!" Mia shouted.

"Let's end it!" Redd cheered. He, Mia and Caleb emerged from their ink puddles, and started shooting at Tartar. There was a lot of ink shots that were being splattered onto him, that he could do nothing but raises his arms to try and protect himself.

Before that, he _did _try to counter with his own Octo Shot. But unfortunately, shortly after the ink shots started, Tartar's Octo Shot was blown away.

**"ARRRRGH!" **Tartar growled, as he really didn't want to accept this. And then...

"RAH!" Tom jumped up in their air, looking at Tartar. While still in the air, he shoots a couple ink from his weapon, then throws his SCAR-L straight at Tartar, which landed square on his face, also resulting in a critical hit.

**"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!" **Tartar let out one last scream as he was down on the ground, lying down after the shooting was over. But the three main Agents didn't stop yet.

"Okay, guys, you can stop now. The battle's over." Tom chuckled. And after that done deal, everyone did stop. And they all glared at the defeated AI, who only started panting after all that ink.

There was ink all over Tartar, it's like he inhaled a rainbow, and all the effects... basically affected his overall appearance. Well, it's certainly better than teal.

Anything is better than that ugly teal.

Tartar slowly gets up, but only falls to his knees as he is severely weakened once again.

**"Rgh... defeated again. KZZZRRRT... as I predicted, of course there's no way you can give in to the new future of Inkopolis..." **Tartar sighed.

"You can't trick us again, Tartar. And plus, our battle is over. You lost." Tom said.

"Yeah, so be good and at least come back another day." Caleb demanded.

"Might as well never return, too." Mia added.

**"Mmmhaahahahaha! AHAHAHAHHAAHAAHA!" **Tartar laughed. Everyone stared at Tartar in confusion.

"What's so funny?" Redd asked.

**"You REALLY think you can get rid of me?!" **Tartar yelled, **"As I mentioned before, wherever my goo roams, I am always there! I may be defeated now, but just so you guys are well aware, the next time you see teal, you shall always remember me!" **

Tartar looked around. And he only shook as he tried to hold in his laughter.

**"Do you see it, Agents? I see the remains of Inkopolis when I'm through," **He exclaimed, **"Your world will perish in my grasp, and the professor's lifelong dream will view it from the skies above! You remember this well, Agents! BZRT!"**

And he started maniacally laughing again, getting on the Agents' nerves.

_SPLAT!_

Tartar was interrupted and splatted by a loud snipe. Everyone looked over to see who caused that.

It was Marie, wearing her Agent 2 outfit. She splatted Tartar with her Hero Charger, thus the reason of the long lime green ink trail. Everyone smiled upon seeing that Marie came to help them.

Marie then shoots little snipes to get rid of the remaining teal the was left over from the battle.

"I will never trust that phone with anyone ever again..." Marie mumbled as soon as all the teal was gone.

"Nice! Thanks for helping us, Marie!" Tom thanked.

"Yeah! Thank you!" Mia and Caleb said in unison. Everyone was happy. But Redd shows a proud look as he approaches his lime green girlfriend.

"Well, I sure am proud of you for facing your fear, Marie." Redd said.

"Thanks, Redd. I had to. I couldn't let the maniacal guy try to stay here any longer. I couldn't allow it." Marie replied.

"And you did a great job. Redd complimented. Marie smiled as she pulls down her mask to show the smile. Then, while the other Agents weren't looking, Redd gave Marie a quick smooch on the lips before he meets back up with the others.

The wind picks up as helicopter blades were being heard. Everyone looked up as the wind got stronger.

There was another helicopter. It was the same size as the last one, but it looked kinda the same. And inside the helicopter, there was Callie, Pearl and Marina, who looked down at thee group with smiles on their faces.

"Need a lift?" Pearl requested.

* * *

***on the helicopter...***

The ride was heading back to Inkopolis. Cuttlefish was also on the ride too, while Dave was on another helicopter back when Tom asked about him. And now, everything was back to normal.

Redd, Callie and Marie were talking, while Mia, Caleb, Pearl and Marina were also having their own conversations so they don't get bored for the ride back. And Tom and Cuttlefish were the only ones by themselves, but they smiled upon seeing the others enjoying themselves.

Cuttlefish brings up his communication device (the same walkie talkie Cuttlefish had in the Octo Expansion), and he realized Dave was trying to talk to him. Tom gathered around to hear what the Special Forces leader has to say.

A few minutes of talking later, Cuttlefish puts the device back, and looks at Tom.

"Well, Tom, my boy, I got some news for you," Cuttlefish explained, "After talking with your now-former boss, Dave, he game some some requests that he would want you to fulfill. Number one, he gives you his eternal praise, and is now offering to make the Special Forces an honorable sponsor for the New Squidbeak Splatoon. And also..."

"Yes sir?" Tom said with a salute.

"Dave has a certain apartment unit back in New Albacore Hotel in Inkopolis Square," Cuttlefish continued, "And with that, he offers the apartment to you after what he heard happened to your village. And he also mentioned that you get to keep it if you accept the offer."

Tom thought about it for a few seconds, and then he smiles and nods.

"I accept it, Mr. Cuttlefish." Tom replied to his new boss.

"Ohoho, great! It's decided. When we get back to Inkopolis Square, Dave and I will guide you to your new home." Cuttlefish chuckled, holding his cane in his hand to keep himself steady.

Tom's smile grew wider as he looks off into the distance. From the treacherous Mount Ikaiwa as a failure, to stopping A.L.T.I.S. from destruction, to taking down Tartar after the many moments he worked in the Special Forces... only the time could tell what awaits for Tom in the future.

But Tom is waiting patiently, ready for whatever comes his way.

* * *

**A/N: Welp, yes! There we go! Tartar is defeated once again, and everything is back to normal yet again! :D**

**However, there is ONE more chapter for this story, then I'm gonna go work on a couple one shots before going back into City of Light after so long. ;)**

**But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay Fresh, guys, and I will cya next time!**


	14. Alive

**Greetings, guys! This is it! The epilogue to end the story! Sure, it's just 1K words, but since this is an epilogue, I designed it to be short, so I hope this doesn't cause any disappointment.**

**Anyways, let's give this story a nice epilogue to finish off with. Enjoy! ;)**

* * *

Back in Inkopolis Square, everyone has arrived safely, and went back to doing their usual things. Meanwhile, as everyone was accustomed to what they like to do, Tom was currently with his now-former boss, Dave.

And right now, the two of them were in Dave's apartment unit at New Albacore Hotel. The room was on the 4th floor, room 410, which would be considered the middle of the hallway of rooms in the fourth floor.

"I was talking with Cap'n Cuttlefish, and the both of us have agreed upon this," Dave explained, "Because you are now a part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, Cuttlefish and I have discussed to transfer this apartment unit over to you. Especially after the second Village Massacre you told me about."

"But... where will you live?" Tom asked.

"Fortunately, I already have a planned location, and I will be sure to remind the others in the Special Forces Unit about it." Dave continued. Tom smiles and nods, understanding the giveaway.

"Understood. I will accept your offer. As my new apartment now." He said.

"Heh, my eternal gratitude is within you now, Tom. Farewell, and good luck." Dave chuckled. And then he leaves through the front door.

As soon as Dave left, Tom took this time to check out the new apartment he will be living in from now on. And judging by the look of it from the front, Tom already knew that he was going to love this place.

The living room was the first spot, with a large couch, a TV, and a large red rug between the two. And the wooden floor was the tile for this large room. Connecting to the living room was the dining room and kitchen.

The wood becomes a more darker brown from there, and there was a large square table with four chairs on each side. And as usual, there was a sink, refrigerator, stove, and many drawers for placing utensils and all that other stuff.

And across the hallway would be two rooms. The left would be the bathroom, and the right would be a bedroom. It was big, but not too huge. And the bed was large enough to fit two people.

Tom was exploring every inch of the apartment, as he now owns it thanks to Dave giving it away to him. And the ninth operative was happy. Certainly he was going to miss his old village.

Well, he _has _missed it after the mass destruction that Jenny caused.

...

Jenny.

...

Charlotte was now in Tom's head. Oh, how he would love to see her beautiful face again after seeing her die in front of his own eyes. The Mount Ikaiwa mission was a failure, even though Tom got cured thanks to Switch's second idea.

But Tom couldn't care less about being cured. He just wanted to see Charlotte again. He wanted to bring her back.

_Ding dong!_

The doorbell rings. Tom walks to the front door, curious on who caused the ring.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"It's me, Charlotte." Charlotte's voice was heard. Tom was shocked upon hearing her again. Then he sits down by the door, relieved to know that he can hear her again.

"Oh, Charlotte... I missed you so much," Tom cried, "Ever since that massacre happened, seeing you pass away has left me scarred. I was so desperate to bring you back, that I ended up hurting myself even more. But... hearing your voice again is so soothing, it makes me feel more calm."

"I feel the same way with you, Tom..." Charlotte mumbled.

"I'm just happy to hear your voice again, Charlotte. After all the hardships, you always came by my side. How can I every repay you?" Tom continued.

"Well... I guess you can start by opening the door." Charlotte replied. Right, the door. Tom stood up and opens the door. And his shock grew even wider from what he saw.

It was Charlotte. Alive and well. She had her blue hair up in a ponytail, and she was no longer in the crummy Neo Octoling armor she wore most of the time. Now she had a white sailor outfit, white sneakers with red laces, striped socks, and she had a black bandanna around her head.

"C-Cha-" Tom started, but then he was quickly interrupted when Charlotte hugs him. Tom was speechless. The person he saw die in front of him... never did die? Well, she's still alive, and that's what Tom cares about.

"I missed you as well, Tom. So, so much..." Charlotte said. She felt tears quickly form in her eyes, tightening the hug. Tom smiled as he also felt some tears. His vision was getting a little blurry because of it, but he didn't care.

Knowing he had to do something, Tom leans down and kisses Charlotte on the lips. Charlotte easily accepted it.

They had their arms wrapped around each other as they enjoy their first passionate kiss on the lips. Well, second. Because the first happened during Charlotte's "death".

"I love you..." Charlotte mumbled.

"I love you too..." Tom responded quietly. Then he gently grabs Charlotte by her cheeks so she can look up at Tom.

"How did you come back...?" He questioned.

"Well, hee hee... as it turns out, I managed to trick Jenny the whole time," Charlotte giggled, "See, when I was fighting her, and you were busy fighting the elite Octolings... I added a special liquid to myself through a small needle I had with me. Since I know what Jenny is like, the liquid slows down a death if someone gets stabbed."

"Whoa." Tom yelped.

"Yep. And, as I sacrificed myself, I... well," Charlotte continued, "I had to pretend I was dying in order to not cause suspicion from Jenny. It was hard, but I managed to do it. Then, you know... when the rest of the Ryuketsunoshi Army came along and carried me away to plan a funeral for me."

"And... what was about that?" Tom asked.

"I revealed myself to be okay to the rest," Charlotte replied, "They were surprised at first, but they eased up when I told them. I may have been okay, but I was still slowly dying, so I told them to take me to a hospital. And... I was there for a few days."

"So... that voice I heard in my head from you... you were in the hospital?" Tom pointed out.

"Yes, it was like we were... mentally communicating," Charlotte said, "So as I healed up in the hospital, I called the rest of the Ryuketsunoshi Army, and we came to a unanimous decision to disband as being part of the army, and stand up against Jenny. Now we're all in our separate paths, waiting for what the future has to bring."

"Oh." Was all Tom responded with. Charlotte sadly frowns as she looks down slightly.

"I'm so sorry I caused all that pain for you, Tom. If only I came sooner..." She sighed. But Tom cuts off by hugging the Octoling again, and giving her a kiss on her right cheek.

"I forgive you, Charlotte. And it's okay. All I care about now... is that you're alive and healthy." Tom said. Charlotte's smile grows wider as one single tears drips down her left eye.

"Oh, Tom..." She muttered. And once again, the two get into a deep kiss on the lips, savoring the moment that they have been longing for.

Even though what started out to be a failure... at least it's all a happy ending once said ending came. The Octo Army had nothing against Charlotte, who made sure she was lucky enough to be able to trick the un-trickable.

And Tom's future will be better, knowing that he and Charlotte will be together forever.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, and that's it for Squidbeak Singularity. Sorry if the epilogue was a little rushed, but yeah. It was meant to be short. :p**

**Also, remember back in the first chapter when I said I was picky about dead characters coming back to life? Well, this chapter explains why. Hopefully this wasn't too corny for y'all.**

**Anyway, I will see you all next time in my future one shots! Stay Fresh, and have an excellent day! :D**


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